Siren's Call
by SeverusHermioneForever
Summary: AU. The Doctor didn't survive the time war. Instead, Romana the last remaining time-lady did. What happens when she comes across the young Rose Tyler as well as a mad fleet of Daleks and a handsome conman. But why does she keep hearing somebody calling her name?
1. Rose Part 1

**Title: **Siren's Call

**Summary: **AU. The Doctor didn't survive the time war. Instead, Romana the last remaining time-lady did. What happens when she comes across the young Rose Tyler as well as a mad fleet of Daleks and a handsome conman. But why does she keep hearing somebody calling her name?

**Note: **My 4th incarnation of Romana looks like Samantha Barks. See in the picture for reference.

* * *

Romana sighed as she walked down through the corridors. Autons. How did she guess? Their home-planet had been destroyed in the Timewar along with her own and the next best target was Earth to carry on with their food sources. The timewar did more damage than good and she winced slightly, pushing back her long brown hair. Knowing that she was one of the main reasons for destroying their home planet whilst she acted as President.

She was now in her fourth incarnation but really she hasn't had a proper chance to look at herself yet. With Gallifrey and her people destroyed, she regenerated in her old friend, the Doctor's, TARDIS before that landed on earth to rebuild itself, damaged and battered from the war.

She heard movement from the other-side of the door and she stopped, her battle instincts slowly kicking in. She was in an underground of a huge London shop, somewhere in the year 2005 and she listened more closely, not wanting to ruin her movements of her plan.

"Wilson? Wilson!" She heard a young woman shout from the other side of the door. "Oh you're kidding me." She shook her head. Humans. Always too damn curious. "Is that someone mucking about? Who is it?"

Romana heard the autons move slightly on the other side of the door. She knew Wilson was dead. She had just passed his body on the way here, trying to find the exit. Humans were so vulnerable. Except Leela wasn't. She was the opposite.

"Yeah, you got me very funny. I've got the joke. Who's idea was this? Is it Derek's? Is it? Derek is that you?" Romana could hear the panic in the human's voice as she heard the autons advancing in on her and the human backed away down near where she was and Romana, without even thinking twice grabbed the human's wrist.

"Run!" She demanded, grateful that she has got on the correct running gear. Not like she had when she was travelling with the Doctor. She learnt what to take now thanks to the timewar. She dragged the human through the basement and into a nearby lift. The lead auton put its arm through the closing doors and after a few tugs, Romana managed to put it of just as the door closes, grinning to herself.

The human looked baffled at her. "You pulled his arm off!"

Really, humans could state the obvious sometimes. "Yup, it's plastic."

"Very clever. Nice trick! Who were they then, students? Is this a student thing or what?"

Romana looked at her, as if studying her. "Why would they be students?"

The human shrugged. "I don't know."

"Give me a reason. You're the one that stated it."

"'Cos to get that many people dressed and being silly they got to be students."

Romana rolled her eyes. "Humans. Always going for the obvious answers." She shook her head. "No.. They're not students." Romana frowned. "Did you mention someone called Wilson back in there?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, he's the Chief electrician. As soon as he finds out about this he's going to call the Police."

Romana snorted. "Wilson's dead."

The human looked slightly sickened at her. 'That's not funny! That's sick!"

"Do I look like a funny person to you?" Romana asked, looking deadly serious and Rose shook her head.

"Whatever. I've had enough of this now." Romana ignored her as she got out her sonic screwdriver and disabled the lift mechanism. "So who are you then and who's that lot down there? I've said, who are they?"

"I've heard you the first time!" Romana snapped. Really, she didn't see why the Doctor favoured these humans so much. They could be incredibly impatient and very rude. "They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof, which would be great big problem if I didn't have this." She showed the human the small bomb she had made earlier. "So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up and I might well die in the process but to be honest, I don't really care. Now a word of warning to you-don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed."

Romana slammed the door on her before opening it again. "I'm Romanavoratrelundar by the way, what's your name?"

"Rose." Rose blinked rapidly, trying to process all the information in.

Romana gave her a curt nod. "Nice to meet you Rose. Run for your life!" This time, she left the door open and left the room, running hurriedly up some stairs.

Romana sighed as she went back into the TARDIS. She had just blown up the shop and had only just made it out alive. She shook her head, trying to ignore the flash backs of the time war and clenched her fists on the TARDIS's console, her body shaking slightly and the TARDIS sent a gentle hum to try and calm her down and she smiled gratefully at the old girl.

The type-40 TARDIS was still in the same shape as a Police box and Romana hadn't had the hearts to change it. She knew how much her old friend loved this daft old box and she loved it too, it was a second home to her and now it was her only home.

She heard something bleeping at the computer screen and raised her eyebrows. Something was going on and she had no doubt it was the autons that were involved.

"Mum, you're such a liar. I told you to nail that cat flap down. We're going to get strays!" Romana heard Rose call to her mother as she messed around with their cat flat for a bit, her sonic out and examining it. Something was off.

"I did it weeks back!"

"No, you thought about it." Romana moved the flap and saw Rose on the other side before she opened the door.

"Not looking for a new job?" Romana asked, her arms folded.

"You only just blew my job up last night."

Romana frowned and looked at her sonic screwdriver. Her sonic screwdriver was never wrong. "I must have got the wrong signal. You definitely don't look plastic."

"You. Inside. Right now." Before Romana could protest, Rose grabbed her by the collar and with her instincts, she wanted to slap or even worse, punch the human away but Rose quickly let go and walked back towards the kitchen.

"Who is that?" Rose's mother called.

"It's about last night. She's part of an inquiry, just give us ten minutes."

Rose's mother tied her dressing gown. "She deserves compensation!" She shouted. Romana followed Rose into the living room, looking around and taking everything in. She shook her head and her lips curled up in disgust. Everywhere was a mess.

"Don't mind the mess. Do you want a coffee?"

"Black, two sugars please." Romana called as Rose walked into the kitchen. Romana picked up a magazine and flicked through it. "That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien." She stated before chucking it behind her.

"I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong." Romana heard Rose say but she wasn't really paying attention. Romana picked up a book and rolled her eyes before chucking it behind her. "Sad ending."

"They said on the news they've found a body."

Romana spotted a mirror and walked up to it, seeing her newly regenerated body for the first time and gave a nod of approval. "Could of been worse right Doctor?" She looked up and sighed. Her mind feeling empty with no other time-lords there. She was so used to having them there, especially her time as President. She looked back at the mirror and straightened her long, black military coat. She was wearing black knee length boots with khaki pants and a plain white tank top. She peered in the mirror more closely. "Fresh body." She nodded again. "Least I didn't turn into a man."

"I want you to explain everything." She heard Rose say.

"Maybe not." She heard the cat flap rattle and Romana turned on her heels, looking alert. "Have you got a cat in here Rose?"

"No." Suddenly, an Auton arm flew out of nowhere and grabbed Romana by the throat, taking her by surprise.

"We did have, but now they're just strays. They come in off the estate." Rose comes in, not seeing Romana struggling to get the auton arm off her throat, thinking Romana was just messing with her."I've told Mickey to chuck that out. Men. They're all the same. Anyway, I didn't even catch your name properly. You're not from around here are you? Are you from abroad or something? Roman- what?" With great effort, Romana managed to throw the arm of her throat and rubbed her neck, only her eyes widened with horror as the arm stopped in mid air and grabbed Rose's face instead. She pulled at it hard, but Rose pulled down on top of her and both fell down into the coffee table, luckily Jackie didn't notice as she was too busy drying her hair. Romana got out her sonic screwdriver from her top pocket and jabbed it into the autons palm and the arm suddenly stopped moving.

Romana sighed with relief. "It's all right, managed to stop it. There you see? Armless." She gave a slight smile at the joke.

"Do you think?" Rose asked, slightly irritated and hit her with the arm.

After that sorting the business with the auton's arm, Romana madeher way to the staircases of the flats, Rose at her heels. "Hold on a minute. You can't just go swanning off."

Romana snorted. "Yes I can. Here I am, swanning off. You humans love control don't you? This is me, swanning off."

"But that arm was moving. It tried to kill me!" Rose protested as they made their way further downstairs.

"No it didn't. It tried to kill me."

"But you just can't walk away. That's not fair. You've got to tell me what's going on right now."

"No I don't. And who said life was fair?" She sent Rose a dark look before throwing the doors open and headed outside.

"All right then. I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said that if I did that, I'll get people killed. So your choice, tell me or I'll start talking."

Romana sniggered at Rose's minor threat. "Was that meant to be a threat?"

Rose looked offended. "Sort of."

"Doesn't work on me I'm afraid. It's very hard to make me feel threatened."

"So who are you then?"

"I told you. I'm Romanavoratrelundar. Romana for short."

"Where are you from them, some high class estate?"

"As a matter of fact, I was."

"So come on then, tell me. I've seen enough. Are you the Police?" Romana turned a corner, going back towards the TARDIS.

Romana shook her head. "No, I'm just passing through. Very long way from home." She stopped and looked off in the distance for a brief moment as though lost in a memory.

"But what I done wrong? How come those plastic things keep coming after me?" Rose asked, not seeing Romana stop. Romana turned to face her and scoffed.

"Oh and suddenly the entire world revolves around you. You were just an accident, nothing special. Just got in the way really."

"It tried to kill me!" Rose protested.

"Like I said before, it tried to kill me, not you. Last night in the shop, I was there when you blundered in and almost ruined my whole plan. This morning, I was tracking it down and it was tracking me down at the same time. The only reason it focused its attention on you is because you met me."

"So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you?"

"Basically yes."

Rose ran a hand through her hair. "You're so full of it. But all this plastic stuff, who else knows about it?"

"No one. Well, a close friend of mine once did but he's dead now. Died a long time ago." Romana shook her head.

"What, so you're on your own now?"

"Well who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat, sleep and watch television. While all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on. Perhaps two wars."

"Okay. Start from the beginning. I mean, if we're going to go with living plastic and I don't want to believe that, but if we do, how did you kill it?"

Romana wanted to explain it properly and intelligently, but knowing this human in front of her wouldn't even the simplest of sciences, she shook her head and went for the simplest option. "The thing that's controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut it off and the signal goes dead."

"So that's radio control?"

"Thought control. Getting it?"

"Yeah. So who's controlling it then?"

Romana gave a heavy sigh. "It's a very long story."

"But what it's all for? I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain?"

"Close but not correct. It's a price of war. They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?" Romana looked at her seriously.

"But you're still listening." She pointed out.

"Really, though, Romana. Tell me, who exactly are you?"

Romana closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her face for a brief moment before opening them and turning to Rose before grabbing her hand, entwining her fingers through Roses. "Just before we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a young child and the first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand mils an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour and I can _feel _it. We're falling through space and are clinging onto the skin of this tiny little world and if we let go." She lets go of Roses hands and places her own hands at her side. "That's who I am. Now forget me Rose Tyler. Go home."

Before Rose could say anymore, Romana went back into the TARDIS and sets the controls, listening to the TARDIS gentle humming as she lay in her thoughts.

"_Romana..."_

She snapped her eyes open and looked around the room before looking disappointed as she realized that nobody else was there.

She was alone.


	2. Rose Part 2

Later that day Rose and her boyfriend Mickey were opposite someone's house. Rose had arrange to meet a man named Clive to talk about Romana and were sitting in Mickey's bright yellow VW beetle.

"You're not coming on but he's safe. He's got a wife and kids." Rose said to him, trying to ease her boyfriend.

Mickey folded his arms. "Yeah, who told you that? He did. That's exactly what an internet lunatic murderer would say." Rose gave him a quick kiss before getting out of the car before knocking on Clive's door. She waited a few seconds before a young boy answered it.

"Hello, I've come to see Clive? We've been emailing."

"Dad! It's one of your nutters." The boy shouted before he went back into the front room and a few seconds later, a homely looking man walked up to her, smiling. "Oh sorry. Hello, you must be Rose. I'm Clive obviously." He shook her hands.

"Id better tell you now, my boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill me." Clive gave a good-hearted laugh.

"No, good point. No murders." He sent a wave at Mickey who merely sent him a gloomy look.

"Who is it?" Clive's wife called.

"Oh, it's something to do with Romana and the Doctor. She's been reading the website. Please come through, I'm in the shed."

They made their way to Clive's shed which was really quiet large but inside it was a mess. Junk was scattered all over the place and in the middle was a large table with a laptop.

"Most of this stuff quite sensitive so I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it, if you know what I mean. If you did deep enough and keep a lively mind, this Romana and this other man whose called the Doctor, all keep cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. Both of them have no first name and no last name. Just always Romana or the Doctor. And the title seems to be passed down from Mother to daughter and father to son. It appears to be an inheritance. That's your Romana there isn't it?" He showed her a photo.

"Yeah, but I haven't met this Doctor bloke. Only Romana."

Clive nodded. "I've tracked it down to the Washington public archive just last year. The online photo's enhanced but if we look at the original." He shows her the original picture of Kennedy's cortege which was going through Dallas and Rose could just make out Romana's face, staring blankly in the distance. "November 22nd 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy. You see?"

"It must be her mother." Rose looked at it again.

"Going further back, April 1912. This is a photo of the Daniels family of Southampton and friend. This was taken the day before they were due to set sail off for the New World on the Titanic, and for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived. And here we are, 1883. Another Romana." He showed Rose an old looking drawing f Romana who was stood on a beach. "And look, the same lineage. It's identical. This was washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded. Apparently, _both _Romana and the Doctor are legends woven throughout history and when disaster comes, they're there. She brings the storm in her awake and she has one constant companion."

"Who's that?"

"Death." Clive looked at her seriously. "If Romana is back and you've seen her, then one's thing for certain we're all in danger. But if she's singled you out and she's making house calls, then god help you."

"But who do you think Romana is? Or he is?" She pointed to a picture of a Doctor with curly hair who was wearing a long scarf with a woman in what appeared to be a school girls outfit next to the Eiffel Tower.

"I think they're both the same people. Both immortal. I think that they're both aliens from another world."

Rose started at him as though he had grown two heads.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Clive, she returned to the car, sitting in the passenger seat. "All right. He's a nutter and completely off his head. Complete online conspiracy freak. You win! What are we going to do tonight? I fancy a pizza." She did her seatbelt.

"Pizza! P-p-p-pizza!"

"Or Chinese." Rose suggested, obvious to the fact that Mickey was now plastic.

"Pizza!" He turned on the car engine and weaved of down the road.

* * *

They ended up at a pizza restaurant and Rose was still oblivious to the fact that Mickey has shiny skin and a fixed grin on his face.

"Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had a lot of jobs going in the canteen. Is that it then, dishing out chips. I could do A Levels. I don't know. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school because of him. Look where he ended up. What do you think?" Rose asked.

"So where did you meet Romana?" The plastic Mickey asked and Rose blinked.

"I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about _me _for a second?"

"Because I reckoned it started back at the shop am I right? Was she something to do with that?"

"No." Rose looked shyly away.

"Come on."

"Sort of." She sighed.

"What was she doing there?"

"I'm not going on about it Mickey, really. I'm not because, I know it sounds daft but I don't think she's safe. I think she's dangerous."

"But you can trust me, sweetheart. Babe." Suddenly his voice went deeper and Rose looked at him with wide eyes. "Sugar. Babe. You can tell me anything. Tell me about Romana and what she's planning and I can help you Rose."

Suddenly a waitress appeared beside them. "Madame, your champagne."

Rose waved her hand. "It's not ours. Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"i need to find out how much you know, so where is she?"

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?" The waitress asked again, but she didn't sound irritated.

"Look we didn't order it." The plastic Mickey looked up only to see that it was Romana. "Ah. Gotcha." Romana shook the champagne bottle vigorously.

"Don't mind me, I'm just toasting the happy couple." Romana sent them a smile before she released the cage around the cork and it flew into Mickey's plastic forehead. After a few seconds, Mickey spits it out.

Plastic Mickey got up and turns his hand into a chopper, Rose got up and screamed before she fled as Mickey wrecked the table. Romana grabbed the auton and pulled it's head off in one go and the whole restaurant screamed with horror. Romana rolled her eyes. Really, the human race was so cowardly.

Mickey's eyes looked up at her. "Don't think that's going to stop me." Romana looked over to Mickey's body and the body got up and started to flail around and Rose sets off the fire alarm.

"Everybody get out! Out now! Get out! Get out!" Rose screamed and everybody ran past them.

Romana tucked Mickey's head underneath her arms and ran towards the exit, Rose running in front of her before Romana sealed off the exit and Rose ran down an alley way and past the TARDIS that Romana parked a few meters away. The end of the yard was secured by padlocked gates and Rose looked around helplessly.

Rose banged on the metal gates. "Open the gate! Use that tube thing! Come on!"

"It's a sonic screwdriver, not a tube thing." Romana corrected.

"Use it then!" Rose shouted angrily.

Romana shook her head and smirked. "No I won't. I'm going in here." She unlocked the TARDIS and went inside whilst the Auton hammers on the metal doors, making large see through dents.

"You can't hide inside a wooden box! It's going to get us! Romana?!"

Rose tries the gate again but it was no use and ran inside Romana's TARDIS. She stopped, her mouth hanging open with shock and runs outside again, completely in shock. Suddenly, Rose heard a siren wailing in the distance and she quickly runs around the TARDIS, hoping that it was all just a dream when an auton finally smashed through the metal door. She shook her head before she ran back inside the TARDIS again.

"It's going to follow us!" Rose called to Romana. Romana shook her head, her curls bouncing up and down.

"Apparently the assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door. Trust me, not even the Dalek Army could get through it. Believe me, they've tried."

Romana attached some wires to Mickey's head. Now that she had the head, it was perfect because now she could track the signal back to the original source.

"Er, the insides bigger than the outside." Rose said, awed. There they go again. Always stating the obvious.

"Oh I never noticed." Romana replied sarcastically.

"It's alien." Rose ignored her.

"Yup."

"Are you alien?"

"Yes, you okay with that?" Romana asked, turning to face her slightly.

"It's called the TARDIS this ship. Stands for Time and Relative and Dimension In Space." As soon as she finished her sentence, Rose burst into tears. Perhaps it was all too much for the simple minded human and Romana shook her head ruefully. "Culture shock. Happens to the best of us." She concentrated on Mickey.

"Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?" Rose asked, clearly worried.

"No, they won't kill him. They need him alive in order to create the copy. Now I've got the signal, it may lead us to him but I can't promise you anything." Romana warned and Rose merely nodded. Romana peered at the screen before pressing some buttons on the TARDIS console. "Right, I think we're done." She parked the TARDIS and let the head melt before she headed out of the door.

"But you can't go out there! It's not safe!" She heard Rose cry out but she ignored the human and went outside, Rose following soon after.

Rose looked around with awe, not believing that they are I a different spot. "I've got the signal but I'm not parking the TARDIS right where the enemy is. The TARDIS is too valuable to fall into the wrong hands." Romana stated, looking across Westminster Bridge. She has never really got the chance to look at it properly and she had to admit, it was a beautiful sight.

"We've moved. Does it fly?" Rose asked.

Romana snorted. "Of course it does. How else did we get here? You wouldn't understand the proper techniques of it."

"If we're somewhere else, what about the headless thing? It's still on the loose though."

"As soon as I got the signal, I melted it's head. With the head melted, so did the rest of the body. Are you going to witter on all night and ask stupid questions?" Romana folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. She hoped the human wasn't.

"You just went and forgot him!" Rose protested. "You're right, you are an alien."

"Does it really matter?"

"Yeah because he's not a kid."

"So someone dies. So what? Here I am trying to save the life of every stupid human being that's blundering on top of this planet all right? I can't save everyone."

"All right." Rose retorted.

"Yes it is."

There was a slight pause and Romana leant against the TARDIS, huffing slightly.

"What's a police public call box?" Rose asked, looking at her ship, changing subjects.

"It's a telephone box from the 1950's. It's a disguise."

"Okay and this living plastic, what's it got against us?"

The time-lady rolled her eyes, irritated. "Nothing. It's the opposite in fact, it absolutely loves you lot. You've got such a good planet with lots of smoke and oil mixed in with plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air. It's just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. All of it's food stock was destroyed in the war-"Romana winced. "All it's protein plants were rotted so it came for Earth to have dinner."

"Anyway of stopping it?"

Romana pulled out a tube which was full of dark blue liquid and waved it in front of Rose. "Anti-plastic to put it lightly."

"Anti-plastic." Rose repeated, staring at the tube with curiosity.

"Anti-plastic. I've found the transmitter and know the location of it but I'm leaving the TARDIS here. Like I've said before, don't want it to fall in the wrong hands." She was about to go her way when she looked at Rose. "Want to come or stay here?"

Rose sent a grin and jogged next to Romana, heading for the London eye, running across the Westminster Bridge with Romana explaining what the Consciousness was about. "Just think, all the plastic all over the world is waiting to come alive. Everything from shop window dummies, wires cables all that."

"The breast implants." Rose commented and Romana couldn't help but chuckle as they went down some steps and Romana headed over to what looked like a large manhole entrance and pulled out her sonic screwdriver.

"Still, I've found the transmitter. The consciousness is right here." She opened the entrance, and went down, Rose following after her.

To her surprise, it was only a short ladder that led them down into a brick-buiilt area with lots of chains. From there, Romana went through a door and down a flight of stairs that led them into a multi-level chamber. Romana walked over to the railings and gazed down onto the Nestene Consciousness, looking at it solemnly. "The Nestene Consciousness. That's it."

Rose joined next to her, peering at it. "Well then, tip in your anti-plastic and let's go."

Romana shook her head. If one thing being with the Doctor it was about second chances and whilst she was President back on Gallifrey, she couldn't afford that but now she can. She was going to do what the Doctor would do. "I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance." She turned and walked down a catwalk which overlooked the seething vat. Romana corrected her posture, like she did many times when she was President and had to give a speech to the High Council. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation."

The Nestene vat flexes.

"Thank you. May I have the permission to approach?"

Rose spotted Mickey huddled in a corner on the lower level and runs down to comfort him. "Oh god! Mickey, it's me! It's okay, it's all right." Rose soothed.

Mickey shakily pointed his hand towards the Nestene consciousness. "That thing down there, the liquid Rose, it can talk!"

Rose sniffed him and pulled a disgusted face. "You're stinking. Romana, they kept him alive."

Romana didn't look at her but concentrated on the Nestene Consciousness. "Yeah, told you about that back in the TARDIS. It was a possibility. But for now could we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" Romana continued down the steps.

"Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilisation by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shut it off?"

An ugly face appeared within the liquid. Romana looked at it darkly. "Oh don't give me that crap. It's an invasion and you know it. Plain and simple so don't you dare talk about constitutional rights because I AM TALKING! This planet has just barely started and these stupid little apes have only just learnt how to walk but give them a chance and they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on your behalf, please just go."

"Romana!" Rose shouted in warning and Romana turned to see two shop dummies walking towards her. Quickly, her battle defences kicked in and she knocked one of them over the edge with a simple karate move but the other grabbed her tightly and took out the anti-plastic out of her jacket. Well, there goes her plan.

"That was just insurance. I wasn't going to use it. As my word as Ex-President of Gallifrey, I promise that I wasn't attacking you. I am here to help. I am not your enemy. I swear I am not and what do you mean?" Romana asked, her heart beats pounding. Suddenly next to Rose, a door slides open to reveal the TARDIS and Romana looked at it with wide eyes

"No! Honestly please no. Yes that's my ship. Not the Doctor's anymore-it's _mine. _It's not true because I should know. I was there. I acted as President of my home planet during the war before Rassilon took over! He was corrupted! I fought in the war and the moves I made weren't always perfect but they had to happen for a reason. I couldn't save your world, not even the Doctor could! I couldn't save any of them including my own!" She shouted at the Nestene in anguish.

"What's it doing?!" Rose shouted over, her hair a mess.

Romana took a quick glance at her, fear in her eyes. "It's the TARDIS! The Nestene has identified it's superior technology and it's terrified. It's going to start the final phase and start the invasion! Get out Rose and take Mickey with you!" Romana struggled against the auton, using as many moves as she knew but it was no use. With every defence move she used, the grip of the auton just got tighter and tighter. Whilst Romana struggled, she saw Rose talk to her mother on the phone, warning her to stay indoors, whilst the Consciousness started to throw energy bolts around.

"It's the activation signal! It's transmitting!" Romana shouted over to Rose as she put the phone down.

"It's the end of the world." Rose breathed as she headed for the stairs with Mickey, only to realize that the stairs have collapsed. "The stairs have gone!"

The auton tried to push Romana into the vat but Romana fought it. Rose and Mickey running into the TARDIS and Rose tried to get inside "I haven't got the key!" She cried.

"We're going to die!" Mickey shouted. Rose looked around for other possibilities.

"Time-Lady!" The Nestene shouted. Rose stands and looks at Romana before she runs around the chamber before coming to some lose metal chains next to a axe. She picked up the axe and put it in her hands.

"I've got no A Levels, no job, no future. But I tell you what I have got. Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastics team. I've got the bronze!" She chopped through the rope that held the chains and takes a firm hold. She turns to face Romana before she ran and swings out along the side side of the catwalk, kicking the auton that held Romana into the vat, taking the vial of anti-plastic with it. The Nestene screams and started to turn blue.

"Rose!" Romana called before she grabbed her as she swung back, Romana taking a quick peek at the Nestene before looking back at Rose. "Now we're in trouble."

Explosions started as Romana and Rose ran into the TARDIS where they found Mickey holding onto it for dear life and they all go inside, Romana lands them on an embankment and opens the door for them, watching Mickey amusedly as he ran out side, clearly petrified. Rose followed after him.

"Fat lot of good you were." Rose commented to Mickey, Romana leaning on the doorway of her TARDIS.

"Nestene Consciousness? Absolutely easy."

Rose rolled her eyes, putting her arm around Mickey. "You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me."

Romana nodded in agreement. Though Romana wondered if she would have been better off dead anyway. The TARDIS sent an angry hum at her and Romana winced. _Sorry old girl. _"Yes, I would. Thank you. Right then, I'll be off unless you want to come with me? This ship," She stroked it gently. "Isn't just a London hopper. It can go anywhere in Time and Space in the entire universe and is free of charge."

Mickey grabbed onto Rose's hands tightly. "Don't! She's an alien. A _thing."_

Romana glared at him. "He's not invited with him having that attitude. But what do you think? You could stay here with him or go anywhere."

"Is it always this dangerous?" Rose asked.

"I can't promise you that's it's going to be safe and when we get in, I want you to listen carefully to the rules to follow by whilst you are travelling with me."

Rose took a quick glance at Mickey before looking back at Romana. "Yeah, I can't. I've got to find my mum and someone's got to look after this stupid lump."

Romana nodded and went inside when Rose called her out again.

"Wait!" She heard Rose call and she quickly hid before she opened the doors and Rose stepped in, joining Romana.

"I'm coming with you misses ex-president." Rose gave her a joking smile but Romana gave her a dark look before the smile wiped off her face.

This was going to be an interesting ride.


	3. End Of The World Part 1

Romana was sat in the captain's chair of the TARDIS and Rose was leaning against the console. Romana had just gone over the rules of time travelling and explained to her what she must and mustn't do and Rose had given her word that she would do everything that Romana required her to do in order to keep her safe. She only hoped she did because if she didn't, there would be consequences. She wasn't like the Doctor.

"Right then Rose Tyler, my first companion. Tell me, where do you want to go? Backwards or forwards in time. It's your choice." Romana asked her, her hands resting on top of her stomach, feeling very much relaxed.

"Forwards." Rose answered straight away, without a slight hint of hesitation.

"How far?"

"One hundred years." Romana got up and pressed some of the consoles before grinning at Rose.

"There you go. Step outside those doors and outside is the twenty second century." She indicated her head towards the doors.

"You're kidding?" Rose grinned.

"Nope though I admit the twenty second century a bit boring, been there once didn't like it. So, how about if we go further?"

"Fine by me!" Romana seemed to have danced around the console, knowing it like the back of her hands which in reality she did as she pressed some more buttons, Rose at her side was watching her eagerly.

"Ten thousand years in the future. Step out side and it's the year 12005, the new Roman Empire!"

Rose laughed. "You think you're so impressive."

Romana looked affronted. "I _am _so impressive thank you."

"You wish." Rose chuckled.

"Right then! You asked for it because I know exactly where to go so you better hold on tight!" The TARDIS gave a huge jerk and Rose nearly fell over before it stopped just as suddenly.

"So, where are we? What's out there?" Rose asked but Romana ignored her as she walked outside the TARDIS doors, Rose following her. They went down a flight of stairs and a large shutter in the wall descended to reveal an orbital view of the Earth.

"You humans, you spend all your time thinking about dying like you're going to get killed by diseases or asteroids but you lot just never take the time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you will just survive. This is the year five point slash apple slash twenty six. Five billion years in your future." Romana looked at her watch, before looking up just in time to see the sun flare and turn red. "And this is the day when the sun expands. Welcome to the end of world." Romana sent her a smirk before heading off to walk down a corridor.

Rose took one last glance at Earth before following her. "So, when it says guests, does it mean people?"

Romana shrugged. "Depends what you mean by people."

"I mean people. What do you mean?"

"Aliens of course."

Rose looked around her as she walked. "So what are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?"

"Wrong. It's not a spaceship it is an observation deck. I need to give you a lesson or two about this. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn."

Rose looked horrified. "What for?"

"Fun of course." Romana replied as they walked into a large area that was filled with a few display cases and a view of space to the front and above."Though, when I said the great and the good what I really meant is the rich."

"But hold on, they did this once on Newsround Extra. The sun expanding, doesn't that take hundreds of years?"

"Millions." Romana corrected. "But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there? They are gravity satellites that are holding bak the sun." Romana pointed down to the satellites.

"The planet looks the same as ever. I thought the continents would have shifted and things." Rose shrugged.

"Oh you're right, they did shift but the National Trust shifted them back and right there is your classic Earth. But now money is running out and the nature is taking it's course. In the end, nature always wins."

"How long has it got?"

"Half an hour and then the planet gets roasted."

"Is that why we're here? Is this what you do? Jump in the last minute and save the earth?" Rose turned to look at her, her hands shoved in her pockets.

Romana shook her head. "I'm not saving it, for Earth the time's up. All the people have gone and no one's left." _Just like me, _Romana thought sadly. She still hasn't told Rose what happened to her people and the Doctor despite her questions. It was just to painful to talk about.

Suddenly a blue-skinned steward strides towards them, looking alarmed at them. "Who the hell are you?"

Romana gave him a warm smile. "Nice warm welcome."

The steward looked at the pair suspiciously. "But how did you get in? This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked and are on their way any second now."

"That's us. We're guests. I've even got an invitation," Romana pulled out a bright blue purse and showed the steward her psychic paper. "There, you see? Romanavoratrelundar and plus one. Romana for short and this person here is Rose Tyler who is my plus one. Is that all right?" Romana stored the psychic paper away.

The steward looked flustered. "Well, obviously. Apologies etcetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." He gave them a slight bow and walked over to a lecturn.

Rose looked at him with wide eyes before looking back to Romana, pointing at the steward. "He's blue."

"It's rude to point but yeah, he's blue." Romana put Rose's hands down.

"Okay." Rose said, slightly awed.

"We have in attendance Romanavoratrelundar otherwise known as Romana with Rose Tyler. Thank you." Suddenly, small blue children appeared.

"Hurry now. Thank you and be as quick as you can. Now, may I introduce you the next honoured guest? Representing the Forest of Cheam, we have trees, namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa."

The doors slide open and three bark-skidded people walked in, one woman with two larger male escorts entered.

"There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you could keep the room circulating, thank you. Next from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco and next we have the Moxx of Balhoon." A small blue alien that was sitting on a transport pod came in. "And next, from the Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme."A group of black-robed bipeds walked in. "The inventors of Hypo-slip travel system, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you. Next we have Cal Spark Plug. Mister and Mrs Pakoo. The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding Light."

Jabe walked up to Romana, holding a small plant pot in her hands. "The Gift of Peace. I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather." Romana gratefully took it.

"Thank you. In return, I will give you the air from my lungs." She gently breathed onto Jabe and Jabe smiled pleasantly.

"How intimate." She smiled.

"Oh, there's plenty more where that came from."

"I bet there is." Romana smirked and Jabe moved to the side.

"From the Silver Devestation, the sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe." Romana straightened up, another telepathic being in her mind and she quickly built up her boarders to protect her mind and the Face of Boe gave her a curt nod in it's big glass cage, as though he knew her.

Time travels. Romana sighed, it must be otherwise how else would the Face of Boe look at her that way? Suddenly the Moxx of Balhoon came up to them and Romana turned and smiled pleasantly at it. "The Moxx of Balhoon, it is an honour."

"My felicitations on this historical happenstance. I give you the gift of bodily saliva." He spat on Rose and she pulled a disgusted look and Romana couldn't help but chuckle at the luck of Rose's face once Moxx left.

"Thank you very much."

Suddenly, the group of hooded figures walked up to them, Rose wiping the spit of her face with the end of her sleeves. "The Adherents of the Repeated Meme." One of them held out it's hand and a large metal ball appeared.

"This is a gift of peace in all good faith." Romana took it and eyed them suspiciously, something was not right about them but she couldn't figure out what. She gave Rose the metal ball.

"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentleman, trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen." A face in a piece of thin skin that was stretched in a rectangular frame was wheeled in by two men that were covered from top-to-toe in hospital clothing. Cassandra battered her eyelids.

"Oh now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am! Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturise me. Moisturise me."

One of her attendants used a pump spray to spray something onto her skin. "Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honour them and say goodbye. Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry, but behold, I bring gifts from Earth itself. Here is the last remaining ostrich egg and legend says it has a wingspan of fifty feet and it blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband? Oh no, don't laugh! I'll get laughter lines. And here's another rarity." Whilst Cassandra talked, Rose walked round the back of her just to see how thin she was when a 50's juke box is wheeled in.

"According to the archives, this was called an Ipod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on!" One of the stewards put a vinyl in and it was Toxic by Britney Spears. Romana grinned and folded her arms before she did a little dance move and shake of her head, listening to the music. She had to admit, it was catchy.

"Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in thirty minutes." The steward called out. Romana looked at Rose who shook her head, not taking in all the aliens and ran out of the room. Romana sighed, perhaps she went a bit to far and made her way to follow her when she got stopped by Jabe.

"Romana?" Jabe asked, holding a small device in her hands which gave a bright flash, making Romana blink. "Thank you." She wondered off and Romana continued after Rose.

* * *

Jabe consulted to her device once Romana left the room, which made loud twittering noises. "Identify species. Please identify species. Now stop it." Jabe told the device warningly. "Identify her race. Where is she from?" Her eyes widened in shock." Impossible."

* * *

As Romana walked of to find Rose, she saw the little assistants wheel the TARDIS away. "Oi, be careful now. That belonged to a very dear friend of mine so park it carefully. There better be no scratches on it." She sent them a slight smile and one of them handed her a ticket which said; _Have a nice day. _She shoved it in her pocket and went to find Rose before she stopped near another room, hearing movement on the other side.

"Rose? You in there?" She pressed some buttons and the door slides up and Romana nodded, satisfied as she saw Rose perched on the end of the stairs in the room. Romana sat down next to her. "So what do you think?"

"Once I got past over the weird trick with the paper thing, fine, yeah. But they're just so alien. Aliens are so alien. You look at 'em and they're alien."

Romana snorted. "Good thing I didn't take you into the Deep South then."

"Where are you from?" Rose asked, looking at her.

Romana shrugged. "All over the place."

"If they're alien, how come they're speaking English?"

"Nope. You just _hear _English. It's a gift of the TARDIS. The telepathic field gets inside your brain and translates everything around you. Including what I'm saying right now."

"It's inside my brain?" Rose looked at her in shock.

"It's in a good-way. You want to be able to understand everything don't you? Saves me from having to translate every alien language from word to word everywhere we go."

Rose stood up, looking angry. "But your machine is inside my head. It gets inside my head and changes my mind and you didn't even ask?"

Romana shrugged. "Didn't see a reason too. Not like it's harming you."

Rose shook her head. "No because you were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South. So who are you then Romana? Is that even your real name? What sort of alien are you?"

"I'm just Romanavoratrelundar."

"From what planet?"

"Not like you know where it is anyway." Romana retorted. "Why does it even matter to you?"

"President of what? Just tell me who you are!"

"Okay fine. This is who I am, right here, right now all right?" She pointed angrily at herself. "All that counts is here and now and this is me."

"Yeah and I'm here too because you brought me here so just tell me."

Suddenly, a loud computer voice interrupted them. "Earth Death in Twenty minutes. Earth Death in Twenty Minutes."

Rose sighed and bit her fingernails. "All right. As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." She took out her mobile. "Not like I can exactly call for a taxi. No signal."

Romana took her phone off her and grabbed her sonic screwdriver. Humans and their phones. "Tell you what." She said as she took her phone apart. "With a little bit of jiggery pokery..."

Rose leaned over her shoulder. "Is that a technical term, Jiggery pokery?"

"Oh yeah, it's what I'm President for." She sent her a wry smile. "What about you?"

Rose shook her head, amused. "No, I failed hullabaloo."

Romana fixed up her phone again and handed it back to her. "There you go." She let Rose have her privacy whilst she talked to her mum and looked at the Earth, alone in her thoughts before she heard the last seconds of the conversation.

"Is there something wrong?" She heard Roses mother, Jackie ask.

"No, I'm fine. Top of the world." Romana laughed and Jackie hung up.

"If you think that's amazing, you want to see the bill." Romana looked pointedly at the phone. Rose held her mobile close to her chest.

"That was five billion years ago. So, technically she;s dead now. Five billion years later and my mum's dead."

"Bundle of laughs you are." Rose was about to say something when the space station gave a slight shake and Romana frowned, looking up at the ceiling. "Now that's not meant to happen."


	4. End of the World: Burn Baby Burn

**Note: Thank you so much for the lovely reviews so far! They make me very happy. More reviews means more and quicker updates :)**

* * *

Romana took off back towards the observation gallery, Rose at her heels and she walked up to Moxx.

"Indubitably, this is the Bad Wolf scenario. I find the inherent laxity of the on-going multiverse." Moxx commented as Romana and Rose entered.

"That wasn't a gravity pocket. I know gravity pockets and they don't _feel _like that." She turned to Jabe who walked up next to her. "What do you think of it Jabe? Listening to the engines, they've pitched up about thirty Hertz."

Jabe gave a slight shrug. "It's the sound of metal. It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Do you know where the engine room is?"

"I don't know but the maintenance duct is just behind out guest suite. I could show you and your wife."

Romana shook her head before showing Jabe her hand to show her that she was unmarried. "She's not my wife, neither my partner, nor concubine nor is she my prostitute."

Rose looked almost horrified at Romana's suggestions and interrupted her before Romana could go on. "Whatever I am, it must be invisible. Do you mind?" She gave Romana a pointed glare, feeling insulted. "Tell you what, you two go and discuss jiggery pokery whilst I'm going to catch up with the family." She nodded over to Cassandra. "Quick word with Michael Jackson."

"Don't start a fight!" Romana shouted but Rose ignored her and walked over to Cassandra before she offered Jabe her arm.

"I'm all yours."

Rose turned to look at Romana, sending her a cheeky grin. "And I want you home by midnight!" She called to them as they left the room.

* * *

Romana and Jabe walked over to the maintenance duct. "So who's in charge of Platform One? I take it there is no Captain?" Romana asked Jabe as they walked.

"There's just the Steward and the staff. All the rest is controlled by the metal mind."

"The computer? But surely the computer can't control it all? Who controls the computer then?" Romana frowned. This was very strange, usually there was always somebody on board in case of an emergency.

"The Corporation. They move Platform One from one artistic event to another." Jabe supplied.

"And there's no one from the Corporation on board?"

"They're not needed. This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the Alpha class. Nothing can go wrong." Jabe tried to reassure her but Romana shook her head.

"So you think it's unsinkable?"

"If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate."

This time, Romana snorted. "You're telling me. I was on board another ship once and they said that was unsinkable. I ended up clinging to an iceberg and let me tell you, it was freezing. Ended up having to have six hot showers and stayed in bed with four water bottles after that. But what you're trying to say is if we get in trouble there's no one to help us out?"

Jabe nodded. "I'm afraid not."

"Absolutely fantastic." She sent Jabe a grin, but Jabe merely looked at her, confused.

"I don't understand. In what way is that fantastic?"

They walked further down the room. "So tell me Jabe, what's a tree like you doing in a place like this?" She ducked as they placed a low ceiling.

"Respect for Earth."

"Oh, come on, give me a general answer. Everyone's on this platform is worth zillions and will all have the same answer as you."

"Perhaps it's the case of having to be seen at the right occasions?"

"In case your share prices drop? I know your people. You've got massive forests everywhere and there's always money in land."

Jabe sighed. "All the same, we are paying our respects to Earth as family. So many species evolved from the planet. Mankind is only one. I'm another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below and I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest."

"Sorry, just excuse me for a moment." Romana apologised. She scanned a door panel that was marked as 'Welcome to Platform one." She took out her sonic screwdriver and scanned it.

"And what about your ancestry Romana? Perhaps you could tell a story or two. Perhaps a woman only enjoys trouble when there's nothing else left. I scanned you earlier. The metal machine had trouble identifying your species. It refused to admit your existence and even when it named you, I refused to believe it. But the machine was right and I _know _where you're from." Jabe looked at her sorrowfully and Romana stopped what she was doing, closing her eyes as though in pain. "Forgive me for intruding, but it's remarkable that you even exist. I just wanted to say how sorry I am." She put her arm on Romana's and Romana placed her hand over Jabe's tears welling in Romana's eyes, despite Romana's promise to herself that she would cry no more before Romana got the gate open. Jabe removed the tears from Romana's eyes with a tissue as Romana hung her head.

The gate ran through the whole depth of the platform and Romana and Jabe walked by near the catwalk that ran by through a series of large fans.

Romana sniffed the air. "Bit nippy in here, but to be fair, that is one great bit of air conditioning. Very old fashioned and I bet you they call it retro."

Romana walked over to a panel and scanned it. "Got it." She pulled it off when she heard something scuttling up the walls and she turned to see a metal spider scuttling out. "Now that is new."

She aimed her sonic screwdriver at the spider but Jabe lassoes it with her arm. Romana looked impressed. "Nice move."

Jabe smiled. "Thank you. But don't tell anyone, we're not supposed to show them in public."

Romana nodded. "Of course. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody. Now then, who's been bringing their pets on board?"

Jabe peered over Romana's shoulder as she worked on the spiders. "What does it do?"

"Sabotage."

The computer blared out. "Earth Death in ten minutes."

"Typical. And the temperature's about to rocket. Come on." She dragged Jabe back the way they came, heading towards the Steward's office which she saw had smoke from the room that filled the corridor, the glare coming through a small glass panel in the door. The little assistants have gathered, trying to save their steward.

Romana pushed through them. "Get back." She said to them. Jabe moved to comfort the little assistants, who looked horrified towards the steward's room as Romana soniced another panel.

"Is the steward in there?!" She cried.

"You can smell him. Hold on, there's another sun filter programmed about to descend." She turned and ran down another part of the corridor, running towards gallery 15.

"Let me out!" She heard Rose cry and Romana rushed to the door.

"Oh it would be you that got stuck in there! What did I say to you back in the TARDIS? Rule number one, don't wonder off." She worked on the panel.

"Just open the door!" She heard Rose yell.

"Give me two seconds!"

"_Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising." _The computer blared and Romana sighed with relief but then the computer got clever. _"Sun filter is descending."_

She groaned out. "Great, just what we needed."

"Romana stop mucking about! Get me out of here!"

"I'm not mucking about! The computer is getting clever!"

"The lock's melted!" She heard Rose cry.

"The whole thing is jammed! I can't open the doors. Stay there and stay low!" Romana shouted and she ran off.

"Where am I going to go, Ipswich?" Rose retorted sarcastically.

"_Earth death in five minutes."_

Romana ran back towards the observation gallery, Jabe at her heels. "The metal machine confirms. The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One." Jabe told Romana.

Cassandra wheeled up to them. "How's that possible? Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturise me. Moisturise me."

"Summon the steward!" Moxx cried, Jabe turned to him.

"I'm afraid the steward is dead."

"Who killed him?"

Cassandra scoffed. "The whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe. He invited us. Talk to the Face! Talk to the Face!"

Romana shook her head. She knew the Face of Boe didn't do it. "There's another easy way of finding out. Someone brought their little pet on board so, I'm going to send it back to it's master. Or _mistress." _She put down the metal spider and it scuttles of to Cassandra and scans her before it goes back to the Adherents.

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme! J'accuse!" Cassandra cried.

Romana rolled her eyes. "All very well but this is way to obvious. Even an idiot could work that out." She walked up to the Adherents and the leader tried to hit her but she pulled it's arm of before showing it to the guests. "The Repeated Meme is just an idea and that's all they are. An idea." Romana pulled one of the wires from the Adherent's arm and all of the Adherants all collapse to the ground. "Nice remote controlled Droids. It's a nice little cover for whoever is behind this." She nudged the metal spider. "Go on Leela. Show us who your leader is." The spider scattered off towards Cassandra.

Cassandra glared at her. "I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed. At arms!" Her attendants raised their spray guns.

Romana put her hands to her chest, pretending to be scared but really she was not. "What are you going to do, moisturise me?"

"With acid. Oh, but you're too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free and passed through every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."

Romana laughed. "Pretty face? No more than a bitchy trampoline. But wait, if you want to sabotage this ship, why are you still inside it? You want to get out but wait..." Realisation dawned onto Romana.

"I hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous."

Romana sneered at her. "Even at the end of the world, it always comes down to money with you humans."

"Do you think it's cheap looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune!"

"Arrest the infidel!" Moxx cried out.

Cassandra hissed. "Oh shut it pixie. I've still got my final option."

"_Earth death in three minutes."_

"And here it comes! You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. Now how did that old Earth song go? Burn, baby, burn!"

Jabe moved slightly forwards. "Then you'll burn with us!"

Romana shook her head, glaring at Cassandra. "She won't. She's got the use of teleporation which is strictly forbidden."

"Oh you're a clever one aren't you? But you should know, I have never been a good girl. Always the naughty one. Spiders, activate!" Suddenly, few explosions appeared throughout the platform.

"Romana stop her!" Jabe protested.

"Forcefields are gone and with the planet about to explode it'll be a quick death. Just like my fifth husband. Oh, shame on me. But for now, bye bye darlings." With that, Cassandra and her attendants beamed out.

"_Heat levels rising."_

"Reset the computer!" Moxx cried, panic in his eyes.

"But only the steward knows how to!" Jabe replied but Romana shook her head.

"No, we can do it by hand. There is a system restore switch somewhere on board. Jabe with me, you lot just stay low." She and Jabe ran back towards the engine room.

"Why did you let her get away?" Jabe asked as they ran.

"I didn't. I can summon her back with the use of my sonic screwdriver anytime but right now, I need to concentrate on trying to save as many lives as possible on board this ship." Romana replied and they entered the engine room. "And guess where the switch is." She nodded towards the other side of the turning razor sharp fans. Romana hurried to pull down a breaker lever and the fans slow a little and Romana soniced it. "If I just reset the computer, the lever should hold longer without someone having to hold it. Whatever you do, do not touch it because you can set fire and I don't want that." She finished the last touches on the computer and let go of the lever, satisfied that it stayed where it was.

Jabe gave her a gentle smile. "Then stop wasting time, time-lady."

Romana grinned before she made it past the first fan.

"_Heat levels critical. Heat levels critical." _The computer blared and Romana looked back at Jabe who was standing away from the lever as it sent out electric bolts before she ran through second fan.

"_Planet explodes in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five..."_ Romana shut her eyes and slowed down time around her. She wasn't meant to do this, knowing that it could drain her energy and even worse, send her into a coma, but she had to. She had to save as many people as possible. She walked past the last fan, eyes still closed.

"_Four." _She opened her eyes and realized she was safe and she dashed for the reset breaker.

"Raising the shields!" She shouted over to Jabe who nodded.

"_One! Exoglass repair. Exoglass repair."_

Romana walked back to Jabe who wrapped her in a warm comforting hug. "Well done Time-lady." Jabe whispered before they walked back to the observation gallery.

Rose entered the gallery and saw that the Moxx of Balhoon had got fried by the glare. Romana and Jabe walked back into the room to great her two male escorts, to reassure them everything was fine. Romana walked over to Rose.

"You all right?" Rose asked her.

Romana nodded. "Yeah, full of ideas." She clapped her hands to gain everyone's attention before she strolled through the middle of the room. "I've said this to Jabe earlier. I had to let Cassandra go because I had to stop at least nearly everyone from burning to death. So this is my idea number one; now I can bring her back, the teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." Romana smashed open the alleged ostrich egg to reveal a small device. "Idea number three, if you're as clever as me then this teleportation feed can be reversed." She pulled at the device and a few seconds later, Cassandra appeared.

"_..._Oh, you should have seen their little alien faces!" She blinked as she realized Romana was in front of her. "Oh."

"The_ last_ human." Romana sneered.

"So, you passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join, er, the Human Club."

"People have died Cassandra. You murdered them."

"It depends on your definition of people, and that's enough of the technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court then Romana and watch me smile and cry and flutter." A creak could be heard from her skin as she babbled.

Romana gave her a sadistic smile. "And creak?"

"And what?" Cassandra blinked.

"You're creaking." She folded her arms behind her back and bounded up and down on the balls of her toes.

"What? Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturise me, moisturise me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!" Cassandra cried.

"Your own fault. You raised the temperatues."

"Have pity! Moisturise me! Oh, oh Romana! I'm sorry. I'll do anything."

Rose tugged on Romana's sleeve and Romana looked at her. "Help her."

Romana shook her head. "Everything has its time and everything dies."

"I'm too young!" Cassandra shouted before her skin splattered everywhere.

"_Shuttles four and six departing. This unit is closing down for maintenance._"

"I'll meet you back at the TARDIS, I just need a word with Jabe and the Face of Boe." Romana said and Rose nodded, heading back for the TARDIS.

Romana turned towards Jabe. "Thank you for helping me."

Jabe smiled. "It is my pleasure Romana. Promise me that you'll take care of yourself won't you?" She squeezed her hand.

"I'll try." Romana squeezed it back before wondering next to the Face of Boe, she crouched down next to him, placing her hands upon his cage and she let her mind connect with his, only briefly.

"_Hello old friend." _The Face of Boe commented.

"_Hello. It is early in my time-line I'm afraid but I gather you know about paradoxes, am I right?"_

"_Of course. I only learn from the best." _The Face of Boe sent her a cheeky grin. _"Know this time-lady, you will meet me two more times. But know this, never give up hope." _Romana smiled softly at it and stood back as the Face of Boe teleported away.

She walked back to Rose to find her looking at the asteroids that was once Earth as they floated past the sun.

"The end of the Earth. It's gone. Nobody saw it go because we were too busy saving ourselves. No one saw it. All those years, all that history and no one was even looking." Rose commented as Romana stood at her side.

"Come with me." They walked back into the TARDIS and Romana set the coordinates for Planet Earth.

Rose opened the doors to find that it was London. They heard a baby crying in the distance, a man laughing and Rose and Romana stood in the middle of the teeming people that were going about their daily lives.

Romana was the first to break the silence. "You think it'll last forever, people and cars and concrete but it won't. One day it'll be gone, even the sky. My planet's gone and it burned just like the Earth. It's all dust and rocks way before it's time."

Rose looked at her with pity in her eyes. "What happened?"

"A war with who? What about your people?

"I'm a Time-Lady. I'm the last of the Time-Ladies. I acted out as President during the first part of the war and some of the things I did I wasn't proud of. Some of moves caused the I watched my best friend destroy my planet with the device that I helped him built whilst he gave me his TARDIS to escape. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor and I'm left travelling on my own because there's no one else."

"There's me." Rose pointed out.

"You've seen how dangerous it is travelling with me. Are you sure you don't want to stay at home?" Romana raised her eyebrow.

"I don't know what I want." Rose admitted before sniffing the air. "Oh, can you smell chips?"

Romana laughed. "Yeah."

Rose sent her a grin. "I want chips."

"You know what, I never had the chance to try 21st Century London Chips before." Romana admitted.

"Right then, before you get me back in that box of yours, chips it is and you can pay."

Romana tapped her pockets to feel for change only to find out she didn't have any. "No money."

Rose giggled. "What sort of travelling companion are you? Come on then, tightwad, chips are on me. We only got five billion years till the shops close." She linked her arms through Romana's as the pair of them laughed but Romana stopped when she heard something so very faintly.

"_Romana..."_

"Did you just say my name?" Romana asked Rose as they continued walking.

"No, you must be imaging things. Come on, this is the chip shop!" Rose entered the chip shop and Romana looked around, only to find the street they were on empty and she shrugged her shoulders and walked in after Rose.


	5. The Unquiet Dead Part 1

Romana was flying the TARDIS and it seemed to be very jerky as it flew through the vortex, Rose next to her clinging onto the console.

"Hold that down!" Romana called to Rose who was already holding down a button.

"I am holding it down!" Rose cried.

"Hold them both down then!"

Rose shook her head. "Not going to work." She tried to stretch across half of the console.

"Hey! This is a _Time Machine _we're talking about. Now, I took you to the future I am going to take you to the past. 1860, how does that sound?" Romana asked.

"What happens in 1860?"

Romana shrugged. "Not much really but let's find out! Hold on tight!" She pressed down a lever and the TARDIS materialised at the end of a snowy street. Romana and Rose were on their backs on the TARDIS floor after a rough landing.

"Blimey!"

Romana got up and stretched her neck. "Sorry about that. You all right?" She helped Rose up.

"Yeah, nothing broken. Did we make it? Where are we?" Rose looked at the TARDIS computer screen.

Romana looked pleased with herself. "Of course! This TARDIS is meant to be driven by six people really but here I am, driving it by myself and it's not even my own TARDIS! I think I deserve a medal! Earth, Naples, December 24th 1860." Romana pointed at the screen.

"That's so weird. It's Christmas."

"And it's all yours."

Rose looked up at her. "But, it's like, think about it though. Christmas 1860. Happens once, just once and it's gone , it's finished and it'll never happen again. Except you. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone a hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still."

Romana smiled. "Not a bad life isn't it?"

"Better with two. Come on then." Rose was about to go out of the TARDIS doors when Romana grabbed her by the hand. "Wait a minute! We can not go out dressed like this because otherwise we'll both start a riot, Barbarella. I'll take you to the TARDIS wardrobe. Hurry up though!" Romana dashed through the TARDIS rooms, showing Rose where the TARDIS dressing room was.

It made Romana think when she first regenerated when she was the Doctor and she was looking for new clothes to wear. At first, the Doctor had been outraged that she chooses to look like somebody else but a little while afterwards he accepted her for who she was and she smiled softly at the memory as she took out a long slim black Victorian dress and a shawl with a pair of doc martens boots and quickly puts them on. Rose was too busy looking at all the other dresses and Romana headed back to work underneath the TARDIS consoles.

She was too busy fixing the consoles of the TARDIS when Rose returned wearing appropriate clothing for the 1860 and she cleared her throat making Romana look up from her work.

"Not bad choice. Both dressed in black, like men in black only this time it's Women in Black." Rose laughed and was about to stand up when Rose pointed at her, grinning.

"You, stay there. You've done this god knows how many times. This is my turn." She sauntered of towards the door and opens it before she steps out gingerly into the fallen snow. Romana appeared next to her.

"Ready for this? Here we go. Onwards to history!" Romana cried with joy.

Romana and Rose walked down a street with a choir singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen in the background. Romana bought a newspaper from a young boy before grimacing at it. "I've got the flight a bit wrong."

"Don't care." Rose supplied, looking around excited.

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"I don't care."

"And it's not Naples."

Rose shrugged again. "I don't care."

"It's Cardiff." That stopped Rose in her tracks.

"Right." Rose looked slightly disappointed before walking towards a theatre before they heard people screaming loudly from it and Romana sent Rose a smile.

"That's more like it!" She and Rose entered the theatre only to see a blue gas entity coming from what looked like a pale woman and was flying around the auditorium. The crowd flees.

"Stay in your seats, I beg you. It is a lantern show. It's trickery!" The man on the stage cried.

Two other people came in, this time a man and a woman. "There she is, Sir!" The young woman pointed.

"I can see that. The whole blooming world can see that!"

"This is just brilliant." Romana couldn't stop grinning before the corpse collapsed. She dashed over to where the man stood on the stage. "Did you see where it came from?"

"Ah, the wag reveals herself does she? I trust you've satisfied madame!" The man chided.

The other two people in the room picked up the woman that collapsed and Rose spotted them. "Oi! Leave her alone! Romana, I'll get them." Rose made her way over to them.

"Be careful Rose!" Romana shouted to her companion before turning to the man. "Did it speak? Or say anything? I'm Romanavoratrelundar by the way, Romana for short." She held out her hand and the man took it, placing a kiss on her palm before letting go.

"What a very unusual long name you have. You look like a navvie." The man commented. Romana took a quick look at the dress she was wearing.

"Oi! What's wrong with the dress?" She asked before she spotted something blue moving out of the lamps and Romana turned to look at it. "Gas! It's made of gas!" She realized. She hurried out of the theatre, the man on her heels to find Rose. "Rose?!" She called. Damn it, she was not used to having a companion, especially a human one.

"You're not escaping me, Madame. What do you know about hobgoblin, mmm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"

"Now is not a good time sir." She walked up to a horse and carriage. "You there! Follow that hearse!" She gets into the carriage, the man going in after her.

"I can't do that ma'am." The driver replied and Romana rolled her eyes.

"Why not?"

"I'll give you a very good reason why not because this is my coach!" The man retorted angrily next to her. Romana shifted slightly so he could have more room.

"Well them, better get a move on shall we?"

"Follow that hearse!" The man cried and the driver cracks the whip and the carriage moved down the street quickly.

Romana looked out of the window, sighing. "Come on, we're losing them."

"Everything in order, Mister Dickens?" The driver called.

"No! It is not!" Dickens replied.

Romana looked at the man as though she had only just seen him properly. "What did he say?"

Dickens didn't look amused. "Let me say this first and I am not without a sense of humour."

"Dickens?" Romana asked, with wide eyes.

"Yes."

"As in Charles Dickens? _The _Charles Dickens?"

"Should I remove the mad woman sir?" The Driver asked.

"Oi!" Romana protested but Dickens shook his head.

"Er, no. I think she can stay."

"Honestly Charles. Can I call you Charles? I had a friend who was such a big fan of your work. He used to go on and on about you all the time! Shame he's dead now but if he could just see this he'll be in shock! Such a big fan of your work he was!" She shook his hand.

"A what? A big what?" Dickens looked at her confused.

"Fan. Number one fan my friend was."

"How exactly was your friend a fan? In what way did he or you resemble a means of keeping yourself cool?"

Romana sniggered. "No, it means fanatic or devoted to. Mind you that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what's all that about? It was rubbish that bit."

Dickens peered at her. "I thought you said you were my fan."

Romana shrugged. "Well if you can't take criticism. Go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me on. No actually sorry, forget about it." She tapped the roof the driver was on. "Go faster!"

"So who exactly is that hears?"

"My first companion and she's only nineteen and it's my fault. She's in my care and now she's in danger. Really, should have never took her in the first place."

"So why are wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important! Driver, be swift! The chase is on!" Dickens shouted.

"Yes, Sir!"

Romana sent him a grin. "Attaboy, Charlie."

"Nobody calls me Charlie."

"Except the ladies and if you haven't noticed, I _am _a lady."

"How do you know that?" Charles Dickens looked alarmed.

"Told you, my friend was a number one fan."

Dickens shook his head. "Number one fan. More like a mad woman."

* * *

The driver pulled up outside a house and Charles helped Romana out of the carriage before Romana knocked on the door. A young maid opened the door and looked slightly nervous at the pair.

"I'm sorry sir, Madame but we're closed."She said.

Dickens shook his head. "Nonsense! Since when did an undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master."

"He's not in sir." The maid tried again.

"Don't lie to me child. Summon him at once."

The maid shook her head. "I'm awfully sorry, Mister Dicken's but the master's indisposed." She tried to shut the door but Romana stopped her as she noticed a gas lamp flare. Romana indicated towards the gas lamp.

"Let me guess, having trouble with your gas?"

Dickens looked bewildered. "What the Shakespeare is going on?" Romana goes past the maid to the flaring gas lamp.

"You're not allowed inside ma'am!" The maid cried but Romana ignored her.

"There's something inside the walls." She pressed her ear against the wall. "The gas pipes. Something is living inside the gas."

"Let me out!" Rose suddenly shouted, banging against the door and Romana turned and ran towards the sound. "Open the door!"

"That's her!" Romana told Dickens as she ran but she bumped into the man, otherwise known as Sneed.

"How dare you madame! This is my house!" Dickens runs past him.

"Shut up!" Cried Dickens and Sneed turned to the maid.

"Gwyneth, I told you!"

"Let me out! Somebody open the door!" Suddenly Rose's voice got muffled and Romana came upon the door and kicked the door down with a single kick.

She sent a smirk to Dickens. "Still got the moves." She pulled Rose away from the corpse.

Dickens shook his head. "It's a prank. It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."

"Nope, it's the dead walking." She turned to Rose. "Nice to see you again."

"Hi. Who's your gentleman friend?" Rose peered over at Dickens.

"Charles Dickens."

"Okay." Rose breathed as she looked back at the corpses.

Romana turned her focus on the corpses, a serious expression upon her face. "My name is Romana. Who are you then? What do you want?"

The corpses spoke though it seemed to be more than one that was speaking. "Failing. Open the rift. We're dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us. Argh!" The gas left the corpses, returning to the gas lamps and the bodies collapse.

* * *

They were all sitting in the living room, Gwyneth pouring the tea and they listened to Rose shout angrily at Sneed. "First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander you dirty old man!"

Sneed looked outraged. "I won't be spoken to like this!"

Rose ignored him. "Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain't enough, you swan of and leave me to die! So come on, talk!"

Sneed looked miserably at the floor. "It's not my fault. It's this house. It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back and then the stiffs, er, dear departed started getting restless."

Dickens snorted and moved away. "Tommyrot."

Sneed looked at him. "You witnessed it. Can't keep the buggers down sir. They walk and it's the queerest thing but they hang onto scraps."

Gwyneth places Romana's cup on the mantelpiece beside her, smiling slightly. "Black, two sugars. Just how you like it ma'am."

"One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service. Just like the old lady going to your performance sir, just as she planned."

Dickens shook his head, refusing to believe it. "Morbid fancy."

Romana snorted. "Oh Charlie, you were there! If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time and shut up. The more important thing is though, what's up with the gas?" Romana turned to Sneed.

Sneed shrugged. "That's new ma'am. Never seen anything like that."

Romana nodded to herself before giving a slight low whistle. "That means whatever this creature is, it is getting stronger. Which then means the rift is getting wider and something is sneaking through."

Rose looked confused. "I'm sorry but what's the rift?"

Romana turned to face them. "Everything in the universe has a weak point. The rift is a weak point in time and space and it is a connection between this world and another. Most of the time, the rift is the cause of ghost stories."

Sneed nodded. "That's how I got the house so cheap, stories are going back generations." At the moment, Dickens had enough and he slammed the door of the room as he left. "Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."

Romana left the room, walking towards Dickens where he took the lid off Redpath's coffin and waved his hand in front of the dead man's face. Romana watched from the doorway as Dickens searched the coffin.

"Checking for strings?" Romana inquired, couldn't help but snigger.

Dickens didn't bother to look up. "Wires perhaps. There must be some mechanism behind this fraud!"

Romana sighed. Humans, willing to deny everything even if the answer was in plain sight! "Come on Charlie. Perhaps I was a bit rude back there when I told you to shut up and look, I'm sorry. But I am going to tell you the truth, you have one of the best minds in the world! Even a genius like you won't deny what they saw back there!"

Dickens shook his head furiously. "I cannot accept that."

Romana ignored him. "And what does the human body do when it decomposes? It breaks down and produces gas. It's the perfect home for these beautiful gas creatures and I even have an idea on who they might be though I hope I am wrong. They can slip inside and use it as a vehicle, just like your driver and coach."

"Stop it!" Dickens barked. "Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?"

Romana shook her head. "No, but every day you learn something new even if you think you know everything." She gave him a gentle smile.

Dickens sighed before looking at her seriously. "I've always railed against the fantasists. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man who revelled in them but that's exactly what they are, an illusion! The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices, the great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of spectres and jack-o'-lanterns. In which cases, I wonder if I have wasted my brief span here. So tell me, Romana, has it all been for nothing?"

Romana finished talking to Dickens and led him to the living room before telling him and Mr Sneed that she was just going to find Gwyneth and Rose. She found them talking in the pantry when she heard Gwyneth say something which made Romana stop in her tracks.

"You're from London. I've seen London in drawings, but never like that. All those people rushing about half naked, for shame! And the noise, and the metal boxes racing past, and the birds in the sky, no, they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People are flying! And you, you've flown so far. Further than anyone. The things you've seen. The darkness, the big bad wolf. I'm sorry miss." Gwyneth shook her head fearfully and Rose put a comforting arm around her just as Romana stepped into the room.

"It's all right." Rose soothed.

Gwyneth shook her head again. "I can't help it. Ever since I was a little girl, my mam said I had the sight and she told me to hide it."

"It's getting stronger and more powerful though isn't it?" Romana asked, looking at the maid with curiosity.

"All the time miss. Every night, voices in my head."

"It's because you grew up on top of the rift. You are part of it and you're the key." Romana told her.

Gwyneth looked at her with hopeful eyes. "I've tried to make sense of it ma'am. Consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts."

Romana looked slightly relieved. "That's a plus. You can show us what to do." Of course, she knew how to do it with her being a time-lady but she wanted to see what Gwyneth could do and Romana had never seen anything like this before and it fascinated her! She was definitely going to record this in the TARDIS data banks when they were done.

Gwyneth looked at her confused. "What to do where ma'am?"

"We're going to have a séance." Romana sent them a grin.


	6. The Unquiet Dead Part 2

Everybody was in the room and was gathered around the table, Gwyneth sitting in the centre with Romana on her left side and Dickens on her right.

Gwyneth took a deep breath. "This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town. Come, we must all join hands." She held out her hands and everyone followed her, Dickens hesitating.

"I can't take part in this." He said, outraged.

Romana rolled her eyes. "Humbug much? Have an open mind Charlie." She held out her hand to Rose.

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Seances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl," He pointed at Gwyneth angrily. "Knows nothing!"

"Don't antagonise her. I love a happy medium." Romana retorted sarcastically.

Rose snorted. "Can't believe you just said that." She shook her head, slightly amused.

"Now sit down Charlie boy. We might need you." Dickens sighed and sat down next to Rose and Mr Sneed. Romana nodded. "Good man. Now, Gwyneth, reach out."

"Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden." Faint whispering could be heard around the room.

Rose looked around. "Can you hear that?"

Dickens was still shaking his head, not wanting to be apart of it. "Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly!"

"Look at her!" Rose urged, looking at Gwyneth who was surrounded by a faint blue glow.

Gwyneth gasped. "I see them! I feel them!" The gas tendrills drifted above their heads.

Rose looked at Romana. "What's it saying?"

"They can't get through the rift. Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you are the one that's controlling them. Allow them through."

The maid shook her head. "I can't!"

"Yes you can. I have faith in you Gwyneth, make the link." Romana urged.

"Okay." She nodded and blue outlines of people appear behind Gwyneth. Sneed looked at them in shock.

"Great gods! Spirits from the other side!" He cried. Romana shook her head.

"The other side of the universe." She corrected but then the creatures spoke.

"Pity us! Pity the Gelth." Just as Romana thought they would be and she inwardly winced. "There is so little time. Help us!" The Gelth cried.

"What do you want us to do?" Romana asked them.

"The rift. Take the girl to the rift to make the bridge." Romana knew that opening the rift was risky. If something can sneak in, something can sneak out.

"What for? You do know if we take her to the rift to make the bridge, she will die?" She questioned.

"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction. Pity us!"

"What happened?" Dickens asked but Romana knew what happened. She was the one that destroyed the Gelth's home world whilst she acted as President but she didn't say that out loud. So far they didn't recognize her and she wanted it to stay that way. So she can hide her face in shame.

"Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came."

Dickens looked at them with curiosity. "War? What war?" He asked.

"The Time War." Romana winced again. "The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away and we're trapped in these gaseous state."

"Which is why you need the corpses." Romana nodded, it made perfect sense and nobody was hurt in anyway.

"We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical form and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste. Give them to us."

"But we can't!" Rose protested, Romana gave her a pointed glare and she became quite.

"What because it's not decent? Not polite? This is the only way to save their lives so shut it!" Romana retorted to her. _And so I can owe them, _she added mentally.

"Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth." The Gelth went back to the gas lamps and Gwyneth collapsed across the table. Romana sat back in her chair and closed her eyes.

"Gwyneth?" Rose asked as she made her way over to the maid.

"It's all true." Dickens whispered. Rose put Gwyneth on the chaise lounge and dabbed a wet cloth on her forehead before she opened her eyes.

"It's all right. You just fell asleep." Rose soothed.

Gwyneth sat up. "But my angels, miss. They came didn't they? Don't they need me?"

Romana nodded. "They need you Gwyneth. You're there only hope. The only chance of survival. However, it may cost your life if you are to make the bridge."

Rose glared at Romana. "I've told you, leave her alone. She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles. Drink this." Rose handed Gwyneth a cup of tea and Gwyneth gratefully took it.

Mr Sneed turned to Romana. "Well, what did you say Romana? Explain it again. What are they?"

Romana sighed. "Aliens."

"Like foreigners you mean?"

"Not along the lines I was thinking but if it makes it easier for you. They're from up there." She pointed to the ceiling.

"Brecon?" Mr Sneed asked. _These humans were so slow._ Romana thought as she bit out a groan of irritation. How the Doctor could stand being around them she did not know.

"If you like. They've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. At the moment only a few can get through but yet even then they are weak, they can only test drive the bodies for so long and then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes." Romana explained.

Dickens nodded. "Which is why they need the girl."

Rose stood up. "They're not having her."

Romana sneered at her. "But she's the only one that can help. Gwyneth has been living on the rift her entire live, she's literally become part of it. She can open it up and make a bridge to let them through."

"Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world who can only exists in our world by inhabiting cadavers." Dickens looked awed before turning to Romana. "Every time they mentioned this 'Time War', I noticed you kept wincing, why is that?"

"It's a good system." Romana sighed before answering Dicken's question. "I fought in the Time War. One of the most horrible wars in the history of the universe. It is too painful for me to talk of it." Dicken's gave her a look that was a mixture of pity and disbelief.

Rose shook her head stubbornly. "You can't let them run around inside of dead people."

"Why not? It's like recycling." Romana replied, folding her arms.

"Seriously though, you can't."

"Seriously though, I can. You carry a donor card don't you?" Romana asked, her knuckles on the mantle piece turning white.

"That's different. That's-"

"Different? Yeah of course. Get used to different otherwise I'm dropping you straight home with your memory wiped and don't think I will. But you heard what they said, time is short and I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth is dying and it's partially my fault for destroying their world." Romana snapped.

Rose stood up, trying to look down on Romana but failing. "I don't care if it's your fault, they're not using her. Even you just said that it might cost Gwyneth her life!"

Gwyneth cleared her throat. "Don't I get a say Miss?"

Rose turned to her. "Look, you don't understand what's going on."

"You would say that miss because that's very clear inside your head, you think I'm stupid." Romana laughed upon the look of Rose's face and Rose sent her a dark look, but Romana just carried on sniggering.

"That's not fair." Rose tried to say.

Gwyneth shook her head. "It's true though. Things might be very different where you're from but here and now, I know my own mind and the angels need me." She looked at Romana. "Romana, what do I have to do?"

Romana unfolded her arms. "We need to find the rift. So there must be a spot that's weaker than any other." She turned to Mr. Sneed. "Mister Sneed, what's the weakest part of the house? The place where most ghosts have been seen?"

Mr Sneed sighed. "That would be the morgue."

"No chance you were going to say gazebo, is there?" Rose asked.

They all went down to the morgue which was a cold basement where the dead were laid upon tables with white sheets.

"Talk about bleak house." Romana commented, sniffing and pulling her shawl closer.

"The thing is Romana, the Gelth don't succeed because I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869." Rose commented, smirking with satisfactory at her statement.

"Time's in flux, changing every second. Your cozy little world can be rewritten like that." She snapped her fingers to show her. " Nothing is ever safe. Always remember that. _Nothing." _The smirk was wiped of Rose's face completely.

"Romana, I think the room is getting colder." Dickens commented.

A Gelth comes out of a gas lamp by the door and stood under a stone archway.

"You've come to help. Praise Romana! Praise her." Romana winced.

"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution. However, once Gwyneth goes underneath the bridge, promise me you'll let her go? Do we have a deal?" Romana told them. The Gelth nodded.

Gwyneth looked at them with wonder. "My angels. I can help them live."

"Show us the weak point." Romana demanded.

The Gelth pointed at it self. "Here beneath the arch." Gwyneth stood underneath the arch, inside the Gelth.

"You don't have to do this." Rose told her.

"My angels." Gwyneth ignored her.

"Establish the bridge. Reach out to the void! Let us through!" Gwyneth smiled.

"Yes I can see you! I can see you! Come!" She shouted, smiling widely.

"The bridgehead establishing." The Gelth commented.

"Come to me, come to this world poor lost souls!"

"It has begun. The bridge is made." Gwyneth opened her mouth and a large patch of blue gas came seeping out.

"She has given herself to the Gelth. The bridge is open. We descend." The sweet blue apparition turned into a red flame with sharp teeth. It's voice deepens and hardens.

"The Gelth will come through in force!" It snarled and turned to Romana. "And don't think we don't know you are, President of Gallifrey! The one who destroyed our home planet!"

"You said you were few in number!" Dickens cried.

"A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses." The dead in the room got up. Mr Sneed looked at Gwyneth, fear in his eyes.

"Gwyneth, stop this! Listen to your master. This has gone far enough, stop dabbling child and leave these things alone, I beg of you!" He cried.

"Mister Sneed, get back!" Rose warned him but it was too late, a corpse grabbed him and snapped his neck. A Gelth zoomed into his mouth.

"I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come, march with us!" Mr Sneed Gelth said, walking slowly towards them.

Dickens shook his head. "No!"

"We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead."

"Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back right now!" Romana cried as her and Rose moved back, closer to a cell.

"Three more bodies. One who destroyed our planet in the mists of the time-war and two mere humans. Make them vessels for the Gelth!" The dead Sneed backs Rose and Romana up against a metal gate, Dickens near the stairwell.

"Romana, I can't. I'm sorry. This new world of yours is too much for me." Romana opened the metal gate and her and Rose hid behind it where the corpses couldn't reach them as Dickens backed towards the stairs.

"Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth!"

Romana snarled. "I trusted you! I was the one that destroyed your planet! I didn't want to, I had no honour in destroying it, nobody wanted your planet gone in the mists of the war! The enemy was too powerful even for us. I pitied you!"

"We don't want your pity, murderer. We want this world and all it's flesh!" The Gelth snarled back.

Romana stood her ground. "Not while I'm alive you're not."

"Then live no more! The destroyer of worlds!" At that sentence, Dickens ran out of the house but the blue gas seeps out round the door and he runs down the street, being chased by the Gelth.

Rose looked at her, terrified. "But I can't die. Tell me I can't. I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for me to die isn't it?" She asked.

Romana looked at her. "I'm sorry."

"But it's 1869. How can I die now?"

"Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth and it's all my fault. I should never made you my companion. I brought you here." Romana closed her eyes.

"It's not your fault. I wanted to come."

Romana opened them, fear in her eyes. "But what about me Rose? I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea party. I always thought I was going to die on the grounds of my home planet with honour but now I'm going to die in a dungeon in Cardiff!" She sneered slightly at the thought. If the Doctor was alive, he would be laughing his head of at her right now.

Rose shrugged. "It's not just dying, we'll become one of them." She nodded towards the dead. "We'll go down fighting, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Together?" Rose offered her hand and Romana took it, squeezing it.

"Yeah. It was nice meeting you I guess."

Rose smiled. "Nice meeting you too."

At that moment, Dickens ran back in, a handkerchief covering his mouth. "Romana! Romana! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now fill the room, all of it, now!"

Romana looked at Dickens as though she could kiss him. "Brilliant! Gas!" Romana let go of Rose's hands.

"What, so we can choke to death instead?" Rose looked at her as though she was completely mad.

"Am I correct Romana? These creatures are gaseous." Dickens shouted over the wailing Gelth.

Romana nodded. "Fill the room with gas and it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like a poison from a wound!" At that moment, the corpses abandoned their attention of Romana and Rose and headed towards Dickens. He looked terrified.

"I hope, oh Lord, I hope that this theory will be validated soon, it not immediately." Dickens gulped.

"Oh plenty more!" Romana ripped a gas pipe from the wall and unlocks the gate. The Gelth left the corpses one by one.

"It's working!" Dickens cried with triumphant. Romana helped Rose out of the alcove before she made her way over to Gwyneth.

"Gwyneth, send them back. They lied. They're not angels." Romana told her.

"Liars?"

"Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd given you the strength. Now send them back!"

"I can't breathe!" Rose gasped for air.

"Charlie boy, get her out!"

"But I'm not leaving her." Rose said, stubbornly.

"They're too strong." Gwyneth protested.

"Remember the world you saw? Rose's world? All those people. None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift."

Gwyneth looked at her. "I can't send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place. Hold them here. Get out." She took out a box of matches from her apron pocket.

"You can't!" Rose protested.

"Leave this place!" Gwyneth demanded.

"Charlie boy, get Rose out. Go now. I won't leave her while she's still in danger. Now go!" Romana demanded. Rose and Dickens hurriedly left.

Romana moved closer to Gwyneth but not too close and she felt her pulse and sighed as she realized that she was not living. In a way she was with the rift but in reality she was dead and Romana held both of Gwyneth's hands and looked at her seriously. "I'm not meant to be doing this but I haven't got much reasons to live for and Rose is asking for you to believe so here it goes." She closed her eyes and shared some of her own Regeneration energy with Gwyneth. Even through the blue mist that surrounded her, colour could be seen coming onto Gwyneth's face and her pulse slowly started to come back, the maid gasp with surprise and dropped the match, Romana picking them up. "Now Run!" Romana called, grabbing her hand and she and Gwyneth ran out of the house but just as they reached the first step outside, Romana shoved Gwyneth out of the way and with the match, she lit it up and threw it inside and was barely able to turn around when there was a loud explosion and she went flying across the street, way past Gwyneth and landed with a loud thud in the snow and she grunted painfully. After giving away some of her regeneration energy and just had an explosion, it did make her a little weak and light headed. Not to mention dresses and explosions did not go well together at all. The humans hurriedly went over to her and Dickens carefully helped her up of the ground.

"You saved my life." Gwyneth commented, looking in awe at her as Romana dusted down the dust from her dress and checking for anything broken."You are truly an angel."

"I wouldn't say that, I haven't exactly been holy." Romana replied and Rose gave Gwyneth a hug.

"You know for being a mad woman and a navvie, you are truly remarkable." Dickens praised and Romana smiled. "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Even for you Romana."

Romana turned to Gwyneth. "You saved the world Gwyneth. Not everyone can do that."

Gwyneth nodded. "I truly did but you helped us most of all ma'am."

"And nobody will ever know." Rose looked slightly sad as the four of them walked back to the TARDIS.

"No one but the four of us." Romana corrected. They stopped outside the TARDIS and Romana turned to Dickens.

"Right then Charlie boy. I've got to go in er, my shed. Won't be long."

"What are you going to do now?" Rose asked Dickens and Gwyneth.

"I shall take the mail coach back to London, quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all, I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital." Dickens supplied before turning to Gwyneth. "And perhaps you shall be my new maid if you like! You look like you could use some new employment."

Gwyneth shook her head, smiling shyly. "If it's all the same to you sir, Cardiff is my home."

Dickens nodded understandingly. "Then I wish you all the best madame."

Romana smiled. "You've cheered up. No more bah humbug?"

"Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world. Now I've just started. All these huge and wonderful notions, Romana. I'm inspired. I must write about them."

Rose looked between Romana and Dickens. "Do you think that's wise?"

Dickens shrugged. "I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this Earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the world, tell the truth."

Romana smiled faintly. "Good luck with it." She held out her hand and Dickens kissed it before doing the same with Rose's. "And Thank you. Time to say good-bye." She gave Gwyneth another hug.

"Oh my dear, how modern. But I don't understand, in what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?"

"Think you seen enough surprises?" Romana smirked. "You'll see. In the shed." She patted the TARDIS.

"Upon my soul Romana. It's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this. Who are you? What exactly are you a President of?" Dickens asked.

"Just passing through. President of surprises that's who I am."

"But you have such knowledge of future times and hold such beauty! I don't wish to impose on you, but I have to ask, my books Romana. Do they last?"

"Oh yes!" Romana grinned widely at him. "They last forever. Right. Time to go now. Shed. Come on Rose." She shoved Rose into the TARDIS.

Dickens tried to peer in but failed. "In the box? Both of you?"

Romana laughed and patted his shoulder. "Down Charlie boy! See you." But before she went in to join Rose, Gwyneth grabbed her hands and looked at her sadly.

"Your world is extremely mad and ridiculous but it's just perfect for you. However many loses are yet to come my angel."

Romana gave her a slight smile. "Isn't there always?" She entered the TARDIS and walked up to the console.

"Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?" Rose asked.

Romana shook her head and looked at the screen to see Dickens still standing there. "In a weeks time it's 1870 and that's the year he died. He'll never get to tell his story."

"Oh no. But he was so nice! Think he had a thing for you as well." Rose sent her a grin.

"But in your time, he was already dead. We've brought him back to life and he's more alive now than he's ever been dear old Charlie boy. Now, let's give him one last surprise." She pressed a few buttons and the TARDIS materialises in front of Dickens astonished eyes and Romana watches him laugh and walk away before turning the screen off.

"Now, I've better get out of this dress. It's making me itch." Romana told Rose and she headed back towards the changing room, lost in thought about the Gelth wondering if she did the right thing.


	7. Aliens Of London

Romana was fixing some wires beneath the console when Rose walked up to her, smiling slightly.

"All right down there?"

"Perfect. Just a few wires to fix. What did my old friend done to you whilst I was away mmm? Was he a meanie to you old girl?" Romana cooed to the TARDIS and the TARDIS sent a gentle glow, giving a slight gentle hum.

Rose shook her head, amused by Romana as she stroked the TARDIS. "I was wondering if I could pop back home for a bit."

"I was wondering if you were beginning to get tired of me." Romana replied and she got up and closed the latch before pressing some buttons on the console. "Sounds fine by me. Home it is." She grimaced slightly as the TARDIS gave a loud creaking noise. "Oooh. You don't sound too good do you? What's wrong with you today?"

The TARDIS materialised and Rose and Romana stepped out, Romana leaning against the TARDIS.

"How long have I been gone?"

Romana looked at her watch before looking back at Rose. "Hopefully about twelve hours. It's very difficult to drive a TARDIS by yourself when it's meant to be flown by six people."

Rose nodded. "Oh, right. I won't be long. I just want to see my mum." Rose began to make her way across.

"What're you going to tell her?"

Rose turned and shrugged. "I don't know. I've been to the year five billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours? No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's. See you later and don't you disappear." Rose made a disappearing motion with her hand before she ran up the stairs to her flat.

Romana shook her head and stroked the TARDIS a bit. The TARDIS didn't sound too good when she landed and was about to go back inside and fix her before she spotted what looked like an old poster that was half stuck to a concrete pillar and she strolled up to it, scanning it. Romana's eyes widen with horror. No wonder why the Doctor was so terrible at driving his TARDIS she thought as she dashed after Rose.

Romana burst through the door as she saw Jackie hug Rose who then spotted several different types of missing person posters on the table behind her.

Romana looked sheepishly at Rose. "It's not twelve hours, it's twelve months. You've been gone a whole year."

* * *

They walked into the living room where Jackie paced up and down hurriedly. A Police officer in the chair opposite them. This was why Romana hated humans though she had to admit, it was her own fault. But she was never wrong. Did the TARDIS deliberately sent her to this time zone? Was this why the TARDIS didn't sound too good? If so, what for? She gave a slight scowl.

"The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you were dead and where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that mean, travelling?" Jackie yelled at Rose before turning to the Police Officer. "That's no sort of answer. You ask her. She won't tell me. That's all she says. Travelling."

"That's what I was doing." Rose protested.

"When your passport's still in the drawer? It's just one lie after another."

"I was meant to phone. I really did. I just forgot." Rose looked down.

"What for a year? You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here. Why won't you tell me where you've been?"

This was where Romana butted in. "My fault. I offered her a job and it required a lot of travelling, I even made her another passport." She got out her psychic paper and quickly showed it Jackie and the Policeman before stuffing it in her pocket. "My job is very busy and dangerous so if Rose made any contact with you, it would have put you in danger." Romana told her. Well, part of that was true.

"What job is it you do?" The Police officer asked and Romana showed her her psychic paper again quickly before putting it back in her pocket.

"I work for UNIT. Look me up in their databases if you want I'm sure my friends there can pouch for myself and Rose Tyler."

The Police officer and Jackie shared a look before Jackie spoke again. "So what? So what if you work for a busy organisation? Because you waltz in here all charm and smiles and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth! How old are you then? Forty? Forty five? I bet you're not even from England! And I bet your name isn't even Roman or what ever the hell it is."

"But it is though!" Romana protested.

"Prove it. Stitch this mate!" Jackie raised her hand to slap her but Romana grabbed it, glaring darkly at Jackie.

"Don't you dare hit me because it would be a _very _stupid thing to do. I'm sorry that I made you worry all year, but with my job, I had to protect Rose. Would you rather she contact you and put you in danger? See you tortured in front of your eyes?" Jackie shook her head. "I wouldn't want it either. Trust me, I have a lot of enemies and if they found out about you or anyone else close to Rose, it would of put your life at risk." Romana warned and something in her eyes made Jackie gulp and put her hand down before Jackie sat back down again, the room filled with tension.

* * *

Romana and Rose were sat up on the roof of the block, looking over the view of the Powell Estate. Rose sighed.

"Thank you for covering me up. I can't tell her the truth though. I can't even begin. She's never going to forgive me and I missed a whole year. Was it any good?" Rose asked.

"Middling." Romana sulked.

Rose shook her head. "You're so useless."

"Well if it's this much trouble to have a companion, are you going to stay here now?" Romana asked.

"I don't know but I know I can't do that to her again though."

Romana nodded before looking pointedly at Rose. "She is definitely not coming with us."

"She was about to slap you!"

"Six hundred years of time and space and I've never been slapped by someone's mother. Even my own." Romana admitted.

Rose gave a slight chuckle. "My mum used to slap me all the time. You're so soft. Though, when you say six hundred years...?"

"That's my age." Romana stated. Rose whistled.

"My mum was right. That is one hell of an age gap." She jumped off the wall she was sitting on. "Every conversation with you goes mental and there's no one else I can talk to about it. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it and I can't say a word." Romana sniggered. Her companion could be so full of herself. It was like she liked talking about herself all the time and Rose raised an eyebrow.

"What? Something funny?"

"When I talking about UNIT, I wasn't making it up. It's a real organisation that tracks down aliens. My friend the Doctor used to work for them back in the 1960's."

Rose was about to retort when a deep horn could be heard and Romana turned her head to see a spaceship that was trailing black smoke that passed over head and it headed for the city. It just missed the tower bridge and weaved around St. Pauls when there was a nasty back-fire and splutter dive for the Thames that took out a big lump in the Big Ben. Romana leaned over the edge of the wall and watches as plumes of black smoke rise into the air on the horizon.

Rose groaned. "That's just not fair!" Romana laughed and rushed downstairs and onto the street near where the spaceship was, only to find that the Army have closed the road, much to the annoyance of car drivers.

"We're miles from the centre. The city must be grid locked. The whole of London must be closing down." Rose commented.

"I know, isn't this brilliant?" Romana grinned, looking excited.

Rose looked wryly at her. "Did you know this was going to happen?"

"I am an excellent pilot of TARDISes. I set the right coordinates for you to be brought back home but the TARDIS brought us here for a reason. It must of known that at this moment in time, something needed to be looked at. It's what I travel for Rose, to see history happening right in front of your eyes!"

Rose nodded towards the spaceship. "Well let's go and see it. Never mind the traffic, we have the TARDIS."

Romana shook her head. "Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London, don't want to shove another on top. Especially if it's the best ship in the universe." She shoved her hands deep inside her military coat.

"Yeah but yours is a big blue box. No one's going to notice." Rose pointed out.

Romana snorted. "You'd be surprised. Emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching and trust me, it's best if it stayed where it is."

Rose sighed, disappointed. "So history's happening and we're stuck here." She looked gloomily for a second.

"Yup."

"Or, we could always do what everybody else does. We could watch it on TV." Romana smiled and dashed back to the Tyler's flat.

By the time they got there, Jackie's flat was filled with relatives and friends all gathered around to see Rose and watch the news but mainly to see Rose.

Romana was sat closest to the television on a little stool, ignoring the surroundings around her and concentrating on the news. _"The President will address the nation live from the White House but the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies." _A woman on the television spoke. Jackie brought in two mugs, one for Rose and one for her friend but none for Romana.

"I've got no choice." Jackie said to her friend as she sat down.

"You've broken your mother's heart!" Her friend accused Rose. "I cradled her like a child."

Romana turned to look at them sharply and something in her eyes made them quite. "Shut up, I'm trying to listen." She turned back to the news, which was now showing ten downing street.

"_His current whereabouts. News is just coming in. We can go to Tom at the Embankment." _The screen showed a man standing near the spaceship. _"They've found a body but it's unconfirmed. I am being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore."_

Suddenly, the television channel changes into Blue Peter and Romana turned to look who changed the channel only to find it was a young child and she picked up the child and rested him on her lap before wrestling it gently for the remote before giving the child a bag of jelly babies. The child walked away, happily eating the sweets. Romana turns back on the news.

"_Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything." _The news reporter commented. _"But the body has been brought here, Albion Hospital. The road is closed of, closest to the river. I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's been evacuated and the patients have been moved out onto the streets. The Police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls."_

Romana got up and left the noisy flat, Rose saw her go and hurriedly went after her. "And where do you think you're going?

Romana turned to look at her and shrugged. "No where. Just in there bit human for me, reminds me of my family parties back home. Anyway, history's just happened and all they're just talking about who's dating who and top-up cards for half price. You humans can have such dull conversations." She turned away again.

"Right. There's a spaceship on the Thames and you're just wandering?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrow.

Romana turned back around. "That wasn't an invasion. It was a crash landing, plain and simple. Perfect."

"So?"

"So maybe this maybe it. First alien contact for mankind. I'm not interfering in this because sometimes you humans have got to handle stuff on your own and just maybe, this will be the day when the stupid human race grows up." Some music started blaring loudly in the background. "You don't need me, besides, don't you need to go and spend some time with your mum?"

'Promise you won't disappear?" Romana made two crosses above her hearts.

"Cross-my hearts." With that, she wondered back to her TARDIS, deep in thought. As soon as she closed the door, she set the coordinates for Albion hospital but the TARDIS was not in happy flight and she frowned as she grabbed a large hammer and banged it against the consoles. "What's up with you today old girl?" She asked as the TARDIS arrived at her destination.

Romana stepped out and realized she was in a storage room, she made her way to the door opposite her and used her sonic screwdriver to unlock the door with made a loud whistling noise. "Sssh!" She said to it, fingers on her lips.

The door finally opened and she walked into a room full of Red Berets, the parachute regiment. They all stared at each other in silence for a moment when the soldiers grab their weapons and pointed them at her, she gave them one of her best smiles. Suddenly, they heard a loud scream.

"Defence plan detail! Come on, move! Move!" Romana shouted at them, leading the regiments out of the room at the double. She finally came to the source of the scream to find a young doctor cowering by her desk, her head bleeding.

"It's alive!" She cried in shock.

Romana turned to the soldiers. "Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown." The soldiers nodded and did as she said, one stayed with her however. It felt like being President all over again.

"My god it's alive!" The woman told her. "I swear it was dead."

"Coma, shock, hibernation, could be anything. What does it look like?" As soon as Romana asked the question, she heard metal objects clatter to the ground and Romana turned her head towards the noise.

"It's still here." She gestures to the remaining soldier outside the door to come in and kneel by the female Doctor as Romana crawled on all fours towards the source of the sound when what looked like a pig appeared behind the medical bed.

"Hello." Romana whispered to it softly, smiling at it. The pig squeals loudly, terrified as it ran out on its hind legs, still wearing a spacesuit.

"Don't shoot!" Romana yelled as she ran after the pig. The pig turns down the corridor where the rest of the soldiers are, squealing loudly and one of the soldiers turns around and shoots the pig just as Romana came in.

"What did you do that for?" Romana yelled, anger in her eyes as she kneeled besides the pig as it lay dying. "It was scared! It wasn't going to hurt anyone, it was just scared." She closed the pigs eyes.

Romana and another soldier brought the pig back into the mortuary where the female doctor, who Romana realized was called Sato. Doctor Sato began to speak. "I just assumed that's what aliens look like, but you're saying it's an ordinary pig from Earth?"

Romana turned to look at the woman. She had to admit, she was a good actress. She knew the woman worked for Torchwood. She read her mind and was secretly working for Torchwood in Cardiff but didn't say anything. "More like a mermaid. Like someone taken a pig, opened up it's brain and stuck bits on and strapped it in that ship and made a dive bomb. But the technology augmenting it's brain doesn't belong to Earth. It's alien which means that aliens are faking alien. Which also means, they must be hiding something to district us. But what for?" Sato was about to speak but stopped as Romana disappeared, going back to her TARDIS.

* * *

Romana set the coordinates back to where she last parked the TARDIS outside the Tyler's flat and began to look at the computer screen on the console, frowning when Rose walked in. Romana didn't even look up. "So I lied, I did have a look and realized that the whole crash landing was a fake which I knew it was in the first place. Way to obvious. I mean, why would it hit Big Ben? So I thought, let's go have a look."

"My mum's here."

Romana sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Great! Don't you dare make this place domestics." She turned slightly to realize Mickey was there.

"You ruined my life Romana. They thought she was dead and I was a murder suspect because of you!" Mickey yelled. Romana turned back to the console.

"See? Domestics." Romana said, throwing her hands in the air, irritated.

"I bet you don't even remember my name." Mickey walked up to her.

"Mickey Smith." Romana told him simply. "See, I remember everyone's name." Mickey sulked.

Jackie Tyler ran out of the TARDIS. Rose sighed. "Mum, don't! Don't go anywhere and don't start a fight!" Rose warned as she ran out of the TARDIS to follow her mum, only to _find_ that her mum ran back to her flat. Rose sighed and walked back into the TARDIS and next to Romana.

"So that was a real spaceship?" She asked.

"Yup."

"So it's all a pack of lies? What is it, then? Are they invading?"

Mickey peered at the computer screen. "Funny way to invade by putting the world on red alert."

"Good point! Which is why I'm trying to figure out what they're up to." Romana went to underneath the railings to fix something underneath the TARDIS, to see if it needed fixing, which probably it did. Mickey peered over the railings at her.

"What you're doing down there?" Mickey asked.

"If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my magnificent time machine, would you even begin to understand?" Romana asked as she shoved some wires into her mouth and began pulling them out.

Mickey shrugged. "I suppose not."

"So, shut up then." Romana turned her back on him just as Rose came in. Mickey turned to her.

"Some friend you got."

Rose shook her head. "She's winding you up. I am sorry." She held his hand.

"Okay."

"I am though!"

"Every day, I looked. On every street corner wherever I went, I went looking for a blue box for a whole year."

"It's only been a few days for me. I don't know, it's hard to tell inside this thing but I swear it's just a few days since I left you." Rose replied.

Mickey looked gloomily at her. "Not enough to miss me then?"

"I did miss you."

Mickey beamed. "I missed you too." They hugged each other for a few seconds before breaking apart.

"So, er, in twelve months, have you been seeing anyone else?"

"No. Mainly because everyone thinks I murdered you." Rose looked at him with pity.

"Right."

"But now that you've come back, are you going to stay?" Mickey asked and before Rose could reply, Romana cheered loudly as she plugged something in.

"Got it! Ha ha! Patched in the rader and looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship." She climbed back up and walked back to the screen before pressing a few buttons. "And here we go!" She pointed at the screen which showed where the spaceship came from. "That's where the spaceship came from. Its on it's way to Earth except, if you hold on." She pressed a few more buttons. "See? The spaceship did a sling shot around the Earth before it landed.

Rose looked slightly confused. "What does that mean?"

"I've said something similar like this before. What I mean is, is that this spaceship came from Earth in the first place. It went up and came back down so whatever aliens are behind this, they haven't just arrived and have been here for a long time. So, my question is, what exactly are they up too?" She folded her arms, deep in thought before switching the screen to the news.

"How many channels have you got?" Mickey asked.

"All the basic channels and yes, we do have the sport channels and ooh! Rose, this is UNIT!" Romana pointed to a group of what appeared to be soldiers appeared on the screen. "Told you I wasn't making it up."

At that moment, the woman on the TARDIS screen spoke. _"It is looking like that the Government's bringing in alien specialists, those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space."_

Romana nodded, smiling slightly. "UNIT. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people, looked after my friend when he was exiled to Earth."

"How do you actually know them?" Rose asked, before Romana could retort, Mickey replied.

"Because she worked for them. Her and her little friend the Doctor. Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months Romanavoratrelundar. I read up on you and your little friend." He turned to Rose. "If you look deep enough on the internet on in the history books, her name is there followed by the list of the dead."

Romana rolled her eyes. "That's nice, good job Mickey."

"So if you work for them, why don't you go and help?"

Romana shook her head. "They wouldn't recognise me. I've changed a lot since the old days and besides, it was my old friend the Doctor that mostly worked for them." The TARDIS gave a sad hum and Romana stroked her sadly. "I miss him too. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there that are faking aliens. We want to keep myself out of the mix so I'm going undercover. And er, I'd better keep the TARDIS out of sight. Mickey, you've got a car if I remember correctly. You can do some driving."

Mickey shrugged. "Where to?"

"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." Romana walked out of the TARDIS, only to be greeted by a helicopter spotlight and army vehicles and police cars.

"Do not move! Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads!" The Police yelled and Romana and Rose did as they were told, Mickey ran behind some dustbins and Jackie ran out of the block of flats.

"Rose!" Jackie cried but a soldier grabs her.

"Raise your hands above your head. You are under arrest!" The Police called again and Romana merely smiled at them.

"Take me to your leader!" She turned to Rose. "Always wanted to say that."

Few minutes later, both Romana found themselves in a sleek black car in the back seat.

"This is a bit posh. If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago." Rose commented.

"We're not being arrested. We're being escorted to Downing Street."

Rose looked at her, baffled. "You're kidding?"

"Nope."

"10 Downing Street?"

"The one and only."

"Oh my god, we're going to 10 Downing Street! How come?"

Romana sighed. "Your boyfriend's right. Over the years, the Doctor and I visited this planet so many times, we've lost count and let's just say, er, we've been noticed. So they think I'm with the Doctor when in reality he's dead."

Rose looked at her sadly. "So now they need you?"

"Like it said on the news, they're gathering experts and guess who's the biggest expert of the lot?"

Rose pretended that she didn't know. "Oh I don't know, Patrick Moore?"

Romana chuckled. "Apart from him."

"Oh don't you you just love it."

"I'm telling you. Llyod George. He used to have a thing for me and tried to kiss me under the table. Speaking of which, who's the Prime Minister now?' Rose shrugged.

"How should I know? I missed a year." At that moment, they arrived at 10 Downing Street, being mugged by news reporters and paparazzi's and Romana quickly ducked her head low and covered her face with her military coat before they were put into the waiting room. A man spoke to them.

"Ladies and gentleman, can we convene? Quick as we can please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times." The man held one to Romana before pausing.

"Where's the Doctor?" He asked, peering at her. "I thought he was male according to the records."

"He's dead. I'm the next best thing." Romana told him coldly before putting on the ID.

The man nodded. " Your companion doesn't have clearance."

"Okay." Romana turned to Rose. "You okay on your own?"

Rose nodded. "It's all right. You go in."

Another woman came up to them, looking nervous and scared. Romana frowned. "Excuse me, are you the Doctor?"

Romana sighed. She missed him, really she did. "No, he's dead. I was a very close friend of his once upon a time."

The man who was handing out the ID cards turned to the woman, looking irritated. "Can't you go home?"

"I just need a word in private. I can look after your friend, is that okay?" Something had clearly terrified this woman and Romana wondered what had. She turned to Rose.

"Stay with her, see if you can find out what scared her." Romana whispered in Rose ears and Rose nodded before leaving the room with the elderly woman. Romana entered the briefing room.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention please!" Asquith, a soldier called. "As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant." Romana quickly flipped through the leaflets before throwing them on the floor. Boring.

Romana snorted and everyone looked at her. "Of course but you are _all _missing the obvious. The really interesting bit happened three days ago. All filed away under Any Other Business. The North Sea. A satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at one hundred fathoms." She stood up and walked in the centre of the room. "Like there's something down there. You were just about to investigate and the next thing you know, this happens. Spaceships, pigs all to create a massive diversion but from what?"

She looked up and down the humans."If aliens fake an alien crash and an alien pilot what do they get? Us." She took her ID of, looking at it cautiously. As though something about it was bad. "I don't think it's a diversion. I think it's a trap. This is all about us. Alien experts. The only people with knowledge on how to fight them all gathered in one room."

The man next to Asquith who was called Green, farted and Romana blenched and she turned to them, sneering at them. "Excuse me, do you mind not farting whilst I'm trying to save the world?"

Green merely gave her a sadistic smile. "Would you rather silent but deadly?" General Asquith removed his cap and unzips his forehead. Romana's eyes widened with horror and dropped her ID to the ground.

"Slitheen!" She cried, pointing her fingers at them. She heard many nasty things about this race but never has she come face to face with them.

Green nodded, standing up. "As this clever girl here told you, we are the Slitheen. Thank you for wearing your ID cards. They'll help to identify the bodies." Green held up a remote but before Green could press it, Romana grabbed her sonic and pointed at the activation switch, making it explode. Green and Asquith flinched and growled at her, raising from their desks slightly.

"Don't you dare mess with the human race Slitheen." Romana growled, just as fiercely, still pointing her sonic screwdriver at them. "As ex-president of the planet Gallifrey, I command you to leave this planet at once! For Earth is now under my protection!"


	8. World War Three

Green knocked Romana's sonic screwdriver out of her hands and took out another device, the humans rising out of their seats and some made for the door-the ones that managed to take of their land yards before it was too late.

Green hissed and without another word, pressed the activation button and Romana watched, horrified as the humans slowly died around her as she grabbed her sonic screwdriver before turning to the Slitheen, glaring at them darkly.

"Under your protection you say? You seem to be doing a terrible job at it." The Slitheens mocked at her. She would not be mocked by this disgusting race.

Romana walked over to one of the humans and grabbed a collar and winces as it shot electrical sparks at her as she painfully walked up to the Slitheen and pushes it against the collar around the revealed Slitheen and enveloping it and Green with electricity. She gave a slight smirk when she realized they didn't like it before she quickly made her escape, leaving behind the dead humans.

She ran to the Entrance hall where the armed soldiers were and clapped her hands to gain their attention. "Oi! If you want aliens, you've got them. They're inside Downing Street, come on!" She ran back, her military coat bellowing behind her as the armed soldiers followed her into the briefing room and looked disappointed when she realized Asquith had put back on his human skin.

"That's just cheating." She said, outraged.

Green looked at the soldiers. "Where have you been? I called for help. I sounded the alarm. There was this lightening, this kind of electricity and they all collapsed!" The Policemen check the bodies in the room. One of them spoke.

"They're all dead."

"That's what I'm saying. She did it! That mad woman there!" Green raised her finger and pointed it at Romana.

Romana turned to one of the Policemen. "If I told you that the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise, would you believe me?"

"No." Was his reply.

"Fair enough." Before they could arrest her, she ran out of the room, the police on her trial and she ended up in a corridor, right behind a lift. Trapped by two lots of armed police.

"Under the jurisdiction of the Emergency Protocols, I authorise you to execute this woman!" Asquith commanded.

"Well now, you see, this is where I get clever again. If I was going to execute someone and mind you I have done in the past but that's beside the point, if I was going to execute someone by backing them against the wall, between you and me," There was a loud ding and the lift doors open and she smirked at them. "Don't stand them against the lift!" She got in and used her sonic screwdriver to make the lift go up faster. The lift door opens and she came face to face with another Slitheen and Romana noticed Rose and the other woman behind it. "Hello!" Romana distracted the Slitheen so the humans could go and hide in a room.

The lift went up another floor and Romana dashed out and began to run down the staircase before quickly hiding as two naked Slitheen walk out of the lift. She realized they were the Slitheen she faced moments ago.

"It does us good to hunt. Purifies the blood." Green commented to Asquith.

"We'll keep this floor quarantined as our last hunting ground before the final phase." Asquith commented as they walked past and as soon as they disappeared, Romana headed into the room where Rose was, carrying in a fire extinguisher and sprays the female Slitheen with it, only to find that the two other male Slitheens were in there too. Rose pulled down the curtain over the female and grabs the woman and ran to Romana as she uses the fire extinguisher on the Slitheens.

"Who the hell are you?" Romana asked the woman.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."

Romana nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Romana used up the CO2 and they ran out of the room.

"We need to head to the Cabinet Room." Romana commented as they ran.

Harriet nodded. "The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."

"Harriet Jones, I like you."

Harriet smiled. "I like you to." They ran even faster as the Slitheen chases them down the corridors. Finally, they reached the cabinet room and Romana turned and stood near the doorway, grabbing a decanter from a side table and glared at the Slitheen and pointing her sonic at the decanter.

"I'm warning you Slitheen. One more move and my Sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. BAM! We all go up so you better back off." Romana growled at them and the Slitheen took one step back into the outer office, actually looking fearful.

"Right then, question time." Romana said but before she could open her mouth again Green interrupted her.

"Who are you if you're not human?" Green asked, Harriet looked bewildered at Romana.

"Who's not human?"

Rose nodded towards Romana. "She's not human."

"She's not human?" Harriet gasped.

"Oi! Can I have a bit of hush whilst I talk to these?"

"Sorry." Harriet replied, slightly sheepish.

"So Slitheen, what are you doing on Earth? I mean, you've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea and it's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way here literally to be at the top of the human government. This isn't an invasion is it? I guess there's something more behind it?"

Asquith chuckled. "Oh, you're a clever girl aren't you? But you're right, this isn't an invasion, I mean, why would we invade this god-forsaken rock?"

"Then something brought the Slitheen race here. Something caught your attention but what?" Romana looked between the two Slitheens.

"The Slitheen is not our species. The Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen at your service." Green or now Jocrassa greeted.

"So it's family then."

"More like family business."

Romana rolled her eyes. "Always comes down to money doesn't it? So you're out to make a profit but how can you do that on a god-forsaken rock?"

Asquith indicated towards the device Romana was holding. "Ah, excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"

"That is what I said yes."

Asquith sneered. "The mad woman is making it up."

Romana shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, it was a nice try though. Harriet, have a drink. Think you're going to need it." Harriet clutched the red box tightly to her chest.

"You have to pass it to the left first." She supplied and Romana put the bottle in Rose's hands.

"Thanks." She said.

Asquith sneered. "Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."

"Before we do that though, time for a little history lesson. Downing street has a _fascinating_ history. Two thousand years ago, this was a marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by Mister Chicken, nice man actually. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room and if this Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of history lesson." Romana lifted up a small panel by the door and pressed a button. Metal shutters crash shut across the windows and doors.

Romana turned to Harriet and Rose. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every wall. They'll never get in."

Rose looked up. "And how do we get out?"

"I'll work on that." Romana replied before she dragged a man's body into the small store room along with the late Prime Minister, Anthony Blair is also laid out.

"What was his name?" Romana asked Harriet as she dragged his body.

"Who?"

"This one. The secretary or whatever he was called." Romana indicated towards him before closing the door and walking over to Harriet.

Harriet shook her head. "I don't know. I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. Never asked his name."

Romana nodded. "Okay, what have we got then?" She clapped her hands. "Any terminals, anything?"

"No. This place is antique. What I don't get is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?" Rose asked, looking confused.

"Haven't you seen the Slitheen? They're big old beasts and the Prime Minister is too slim. They need to fit inside big humans."

"But the Slitheen are about eight feet. How do they fit inside?"

Romana indicated towards her neck. "That's the device around their necks, it is a compression field. Literally shrinks them down so that's why they have all that gas. One big exchange."

Rose shook her head. "Wish I had a compression field. I could fit in a size smaller."

Harriet looked outraged at her. "Excuse me, people are dead! This is not the time for making jokes."

Rose pointed at Romana. "Sorry. You get used to this stuff when you're friends with her." Harriet looked between them both.

"You have certainly got a strange friendship." Romana frowned. She was pretty sure she has heard Harriet Jones before, but where from?

"Harriet Jones. I've heard that name before. Harriet Jones..." Romana looked at her with an almost confused expression on her face. "You're not famous for anything are you?"

Harriet gave an amused look. "Oh hardly."

"Your name just rings a bell. Harriet Jones?" Romana walked around the table, deep in thought.

"Lifelong backbencher I'm afraid and a fat lot of use I'm being now. The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs. Except for you of course." She nodded towards Romana.

Rose turned to Romana. "Hasn't it got like, defence codes and things? Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?"

Harriet paled. "You're a very violent young woman."

Rose shrugged. "I'm serious. We could."

"Well there's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations." Harriet pressed and this made Romana stop pacing and Romana turned to look at Harriet.

"Say that again." Romana demanded.

"What, about the codes?"

"All of it."

"Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons with a special Resolution from the UN." Harriet replied, looking nervous.

Rose snorted. "Like that's ever stopped them."

Harriet nodded. "Exactly, given our past record. And I voted against that thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. Is it important?"

"Oh Harriet, you have no idea." Romana smirked.

Harriet sighed. "If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted. Listen to me, I'm saying Slitheen as if it's normal."

Rose frowned. "What do they want though?"

"Simple. They're one big family technically so it's not an invasion and besides, it's not their style. They don't want Slitheen World so they are out to make money. Which means, they want something from us. Something here on Earth." Romana went back to her pacing, hands behind her back and deep in concentration.

"Like gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet suggested.

"You're very good at this." Romana commented to her and Harriet looked pleased.

"Thank you."

Romana paced even quicker around the room. "Harriet Jones. Why do I know that name?"

Suddenly, Rose's phone beeps and Rose dug it out from her pocket. "Oh that's me." She said and Harriet looked at it with wide eyes.

"But we're sealed off. How did you get a signal?"

Rose pointed her phone at Romana. "She zapped it. Super phone."

"Then you must have contacts?"

"Yeah, all dead at the moment." Romana sighed and Rose looked at her phone.

"It's Mickey."

Romana rolled her eyes, she has no time to deal with boyfriend or girlfriend issues. "Yeah, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."

Rose glared at her before showing her the screen of the phone which was a picture of a Slitheen. "Yeah, maybe he's not so stupid after all." Romana took Rose's phone and spoke to Mickey.

"Is that Mickey? Right, don't talk and do exactly what I say. Right now I want you to got o your computer." Romana demanded, finally stopping her pacing.

"Why should I?" Mickey retorted.

"Mickey the idiot, I might just choke." Romana replied, running a hand through her long brown hair. In her last body, she had short black hair and the Doctor had commented that she reminded him of his mother in that generation. But she had to chose a body that was strictly professional whilst she acted as president and she has missed running her fingers through long hair. She shook her head. "Let's just say I need your help."

She heard Mickey hacking onto the UNIT website. "It says password."

Romana plugs Rose's mobile phone into the conference phone speaker so everyone could here it. "The password is Buffalo. Two f's and one L." Romana replied, leaning across a chair.

"So what's the website?" They heard Jackie ask Mickey from the other end.

"All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years." Mickey replied as he typed away. "It asking for password again."

"Just repeat it every time." Romana replied before frowning. "Big Ben- why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"

"You said to gather the experts, to kill them." Harriet pointed out.

"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash land in the Middle of London."

"The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on Red alert." Rose frowned. "What would they do that for?"

"Oh, listen to her." Jackie called from the phone.

Rose glared at the mobile phone. "At least I'm trying."

"Well I've got a question if you don't mind. Since that mad woman walked into our lives, I have been attacked, in the streets and I've had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room and my daughter disappears off the face of the Earth."

Rose sighed, looking slightly irritated. "I've told you what happened."

"I'm talking to your friend. 'Cos I've seen this life of yours Romana and maybe you get off on it and maybe you think it's all clever and smart but you tell me this. Just answer me this, is my daughter safe?"

"I'm fine." Rose protested but Jackie ignored her.

"Is she safe?" Jackie answered again. "Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?" There was a pause but Romana didn't answer as she looked across at Rose. "Well, what's the answer?"

Mickey interrupted her. "We're in." Romana was relieved at the change of topic. Good old Mickey.

"Now then, on the left at the top, there's a icon with little concentric circles. Click on that." She heard Mickey click it.

"What is it?"

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now shut up and let me work out what it's saying."

"She'll have to answer me one day." Jackie interrupted the silence.

"Hush!" Mickey told her off. Romana closed her eyes to translate the message.

"It's definitely a message. Can't fully translate but as it's on a loop. It keeps repeating itself." Romana commented. Mickey doorbell rings in the background. "Hey, I said hush!"

"That's not me. Go and see who that is." Mickey said to Jackie.

"It's three o'clock in the morning!"

"Well, go and tell them that."

Romana frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. "It's beaming out into space but who is it for?" As soon as she said it, she heard Jackie give a petrified scream in the background.

"It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slipeen!" Jackie shouted down the phone.

"They've found us."

"Yeah, kind of noticed Mickey boy." Romana replied. "But I need that signal!"

Rose shook her head. "Never mind the signal, just get mum out. Just get out! Get out!"

They heard Mickey shift the mobile as he grabbed a weapon. "We can't. It's by the front door. Oh my god, it's unmasking. It's going to kill us."

Harriet looked at Romana, panic in her eyes. "There's got to be some way of stopping them! You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!"

Romana racked her head with the palm of her hands, trying to think. "Calcium photohate. Organic calcium. Creatures made out of living calcium." She groan loudly in irritation, pulling strands of her hair. "What else? Oh I wish the bloody Doctor was here! What else? Hyphenated surname! Yes because that means the Slitheen are from the Planet Raxacoricofallapatorius!" She grinned.

"Oh yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter." Mickey retorted sarcastically just as the door of his house fell down.

"Mickey, go to your kitchen. Calcium will weaken their compression field. Acetic acid which is Vinegar!"

"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet realized and Romana nodded, snapping her fingers.

"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, you better have some vinegar in there."

"How should I know if I have?"

Romana rolled her eyes. "It's in your kitchen, idiot."

"Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf." Rose replied just as Jackie took the phone from Mickey.

"Oh give it here. What do you need?" Jackie asked.

"Anything with vinegar in!" Romana shouted.

"Gherkins yeah. Pricked onions. Prickled eggs." Romana turned to Rose, looking a little disgusted.

"And you kiss this man?" She asked and just then, Jackie throws the vile contents of the jug over the Slitheen and they all heard it fart before exploding. Romana was thankful she was not in the same room as Jackie and Mickey.

Rose looked over to Romana, raising an eyebrow. "Hannibal?"

"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar." Harriet replied before Romana could.

Rose shrugged. "Oh. Well, there you go then." She poured them each a glass of alcohol and they all toast the moment, Harriet didn't drink neither did Rose whilst Romana drank her whole glass. This body seemed to like alcohol.

Mickey interrupted their silence. "Listen to this." He pointed his phone onto the T.V where they heard Green speaking.

_"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction. Capable of being deployed within forty five seconds."_

Romana spluttered. "What?!"

_"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival. Because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war._" Green spoke and Romana scoffed.

"He's making it up. No weapons up there at all. He's just invented it."

Harriet looked towards Romana. "Do you think they'll believe him?"

"They did last time." Rose replied.

Romana nodded. "That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle. They want the whole world panicking because you humans, when you get scared you lash out."

"So they'll release the defence code." Rose nodded.

"But why?" Harriet asked just as Romana opened the metal shuttles to face Margaret the Slitheen.

"You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate. World War Three. Whole plant gets nuked."

Margaret smirked. "And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away."

Harriet looked outraged. "But you'll destroy this beautiful planet! What for?"

Romana sneered at the Slitheen. "Profit. Always comes down to profit. That's what the signal was beaming into space for. An advert."

Margaret nodded. "The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to a molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there Romana. People are buying cheap and this rock becomes raw fuel."

"At the cost of five billion lives."

Margaret smiled. "Bargain."

Romana looked deadly serious at them. "I give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you so mark my word. This planet is under my protection."

Margaret laughed. "What, you? Trapped in your box? You seem to be doing a terrible job at protecting this planet so far."

"Yes. Me." She closed the shutters on Margaret's laughing face before Margaret started to worry.

Romana went to sit by the phone that was still plugged in before she heard Jackie sighing. "All right Romana. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do."

Harriet frowned. "If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid." She suggested.

Rose turned to the phone. "Mickey, any luck?"

"There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail." Mickey replied.

Harriet shook her head. "Voicemail dooms us all."

"If we could just get out of here." Rose sighed with irritation.

"There is a way out. There is _always _a way out." Romana corrected her.

"Why don't we use it?"

Romana turned to the phone. "Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe."

"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare." Jackie replied angrily.

"That's the thing. If I don't _dare,_ everyone dies."

Rose looked at Romana, sincere in her eyes. "Do it." She said without any hesitation. Romana looked up at her.

"You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?" She asked. Rose didn't understand how fully dangerous this was. It could cost her her life and Harriet's whilst Romana could easily regenerate if she chose and she'll be the one to blame. As always.

"Romana please! She's my daughter. You must understand that if you have been a mother yourself!"

"I have never been a mother Jackie. Never been married. Never had the chance." She closed her eyes, slightly saddened by this. _And I never will have the chance. _She always dreamt of becoming a mother, really she did but a lot of things got in the way of it. "But don't you think I know that? Because this is my life Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will." Rose held her hand in a comforting manner.

"Then what you're waiting for?" Rose asked.

"I could save the world but lose you."

Harriet shook her head. "Except this is where you're wrong Romana. It's not your decision, it's mine."

Jackie scoffed. "And who the hell are you?"

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people and on behalf of the people," She turned to Romana, looking serious. "I command you. Do it."

"So how do we get out?" Rose asked as Romana gets the Emergency protocols from the Red box.

"We don't. We stay right here." She went over to the phone, files still in her hands. "Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything."

"What're you doing?" Jackie asked Mickey as he typed.

"Hacking into the Royal Navy. We're in. Here it is, HMS Taurean. Trafalgar class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."

Romana nodded. "Right, we need to select a missile."

"We can't go nuclear. We don't have the defence code!" Mickey protested.

"Don't need it. All we need right now is an ordinary missile. What's the first category?"

"Sub harpoon, UGM-A4A."

"That's the one. Select it."

"I could stop you." They heard Jackie say and Romana laughed. Really, it must run down in the Tyler family. They were useless at threats.

"Do it then." Mickey retorted.

"Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands. Click fire." Romana commanded. It felt like being President all over again.

Harriet began to go over to a small cupboard like room in the Cabinet room. "How solid are these?" She asked.

"Not solid enough. Built for short range attack, nothing this big."

"All right, now I'm making the decision. I am not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a door frame." She moved over to another small cupboard. "This cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me." Harriet helps her whilst Romana stays near the phone.

"It's on radar." Mickey told Romana as Rose and Harriet emptied the cupboard. "Counter defence five five six."

"Stop them intercepting it."

"I'm doing it now."

Romana nodded. "Good man."

"Five five six neutralised." Romana unplugged the phone and they all squeezed inside the cupboard, Romana in the middle.

Harriet sighed. "Here we go. Nice knowing you both. Hannibal!"

Few seconds later there was a massive kaboom and the cupboard shook then rolled through the remains of the building inside it's steel shell. Romana kicked of the steel door with a single kick and Harriet looked impressed as Romana helped her and Rose out.

"Made in Britain." Harriet gave a slight laugh when the Police that trapped Romana near the lift earlier came to greet them.

"Oh my god, are you all right?" The Police asked them. Harriet showed them her badge.

"Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news." The Policeman bowed before running off and Harriet turned to Romana. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh lord, we haven't even got a Prime Minister!"

Romana smiled. "Maybe you should have a go."

"Me? Huh, I'm only a back-bencher." She shook her head.

"I'd vote for you." She gave Harriet a gentle nudge.

"Now don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on!" Harriet made her way down the pile of rubble. "We're safe! The Earth is safe!"

That was when realization dawned onto Romana and she let out a wide smile. "I thought I knew the name! Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister! Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age." Romana told Rose as they watched Harriet speak to the public.

"The crisis has passed! Ladies and gentlemen, I have something to say to you all here today! Mankind stands tall, proud and undefeated. Good bless the human race!"

* * *

Romana dropped Rose of as she went back to her TARDIS, not wanting another minute near Jackie Tyler and Romana put the TARDIS in flight and was fixing her when she decided to give Rose a ring.

"Hello?" She heard Rose ask.

"I'll be a couple of hours then we can go. TARDIS just needs fixing so it won't happen again."

"You got a phone?"

"Of course! Never use it mind you. The TARDIS isn't a phone box for nothing. Through time and space and I haven't got a phone? Like I said, couple of hours. I've just got to fix the TARDIS and send out this dispersal. There you go. That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert in case any bargain hungers turn up." Romana smiled as she cancelled the signal.

"Er, my mother's cooking." Rose replied.

"Good! Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer!"

"She's cooking tea. For us."

"Don't do that. Too much domestics."

Rose sighed. "She wants to get to know you."

"Tough. I've got better things to do."

"It's just tea." Rose protested.

Romana snorted. "No thank you Rose."

"Please, she's my mother."

"She's not mine. Look, you can stay there if you want but right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula that needs taking a look at." She fixed a few wires near the TARDIS door as she talked on the phone. "Fires are burning ten miles wide and I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out and hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere. So, you can either stay there have chips or stay with me. Your choice." Romana hung up on the phone and chucked it across the TARDIS room before climbing down the ladder and setting the TARDIS console for Powell estate.

Romana comes out of the TARDIS and notices the graffiti on the TARDIS which said: Bad Wolf and before she frowned and touched it. Bad wolf...why that particular word? She shrugged and went of to find who did it and came back later with a young boy with a bucket and sponge, grumbling as he cleaned it up.

Romana leaned against the TARDIS and noticed Mickey, she nodded to him and turned her head back to the boy, now finished cleaning the graffiti. "Good lad. Graffiti that again and I'll have you. Now, move it." The boy took the empty bucket and ran of.

"I just went down to the shop and I was thinking, you know, like the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in pubic. And here it is." Mickey showed her the headline of the newspaper which said Alien Hoax. Mickey shook his head in disbelief. "How could they do that? They saw it."

"They're just not ready. Sometimes you're just happy to believe in something that's invisible but if it's staring at you right in the face, you just want to turn away and forget about it. There's a scientific explanation for that you know." Romana smiled, folding her arms.

"We're just idiots." Mickey sighed and folded the newspaper.

"Not all of you. Some of you are of course but not all of you." Romana took out what looked like a blank CD. "Present for you Mickey. It's a virus, put it online. It'll destroy every mention of me and my friend called The Doctor. We'll cease to exist."

Mickey took it. "What do you want to do that for? Don't you want to people to remember you or your friend?"

Romana looked at him, slightly sad. "Because you're right, I am dangerous. I don't want anybody following me or anymore deaths. My friend the Doctor, bless his hearts, wouldn't be pleased with me if that happened." At that moment, Jackie and Rose come out of the block, Rose carrying a rucksack on her shoulders. Mickey turned to look at Rose before looking back at Romana.

"How can you say that and then take her with you?"

"You're not an idiot at all Mickey. You can come with us if you like, be good to have a computer whiz with us." Romana suggested.

Mickey shook his head. "I can't. This life of yours, it's just too much. I couldn't do it. Don't tell her I said that." Mickey looked slightly alarmed and Romana held out her hand and he shook it.

"I'll get a proper job. I'll work weekends. I'll pass my test and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will." They heard Jackie protest to Rose but Rose carried on walking to Romana.

"I'm not leaving because of you. I'm travelling, that's all and then I'll come back." Rose said, trying to calm her mum down.

"But it's not safe."

"Mum, if you saw it out there you'd never stay home."

Romana nodded at Rose. "Got enough belongings in there then?"

Rose shrugged. "Last time I stepped in there, it was a spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me."

"Oh great," Romana rolled her eyes but in a joking manner as Rose gave her the rucksack and went to Mickey.

"Come with us, there's plenty of room." Rose asked him, but Mickey shook his head.

Romana snorted. "No chance. He's a liability. I'm not having him on board." Rose turned to her.

"We'd be dead without him."

Romana shrugged. "Once I've made my decision, it means final." Rose kissed Mickey goodbye and Jackie turned to Romana.

"You still can't promise me. What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you Romana and she's left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away, How long do I wait then?" Jackie folded her arms nervously.

"I can promise you that she is under my protection. Where I came from, I may have not been a mother or a grand-mother, but I was once a President of my home planet for a little while and I _always _kept my promises then and I still do. Whatever is yet to come, I can promise you that she will have the time of her life and so long she follows the instructions that I have given her on the beginnings of our journey, she should be safe but if she breaks any of my instructions or rules and it puts her life at risk, I will send her home." Romana replied and Jackie nodded.

"That's all I ask for." Rose goes in the TARDIS and Jackie goes back to her flat whilst Mickey reads his newspaper again. Romana smiled slightly and was about to go in when she heard something, something that has been bothering her recently.

"_Help! Help me Romana!"_


	9. Dalek Part 1

Romana landed the TARDIS in a dimly lit area that held display cases and she frowned, feeling troubled. Something was bothering her and she couldn't figure out what.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Romana bit her lip. "I've been getting some sort of distress signal telepathically for a while and then this other signal comes up and draws the TARDIS off course but funny thing is, both signals lead to this place. Whatever they are they must be powerful to try and communicate with me telepathically and to throw me of course." She walked out of the TARDIS to look at the room and sniffed. "Earth, Utah, North America. About half a mile underground I would say."

Rose looked around. "And when are we?"

"Two thousand and twelve." Romana peered through the glass cabinets, looking at the objects inside.

"God, that's so close. So I should be twenty six." Romana walked of a little way to find a light switch and she turned it on, only to find it was a big museum. "Blimey, it's a great big museum." Rose gaped.

"An alien museum. They must have spent a fortune on this." They walked up and down the cabinets. "Chunks of meteorite, moon dust. That's the milometer from Roswell spaceship." Romana pointed.

Rose walked up to a Slitheen arm, looking slightly disgusted. "That's a bit of Slitheen! That's a Slitheen's arm. It's been stuffed." She shook her head still horrified and Romana walked up to a Cyberman's head.

"Oh look at you." Romana whispered, looking at it in an almost sadly and Rose turned and walked next to her.

"What is it?" She asked, peering at it.

"An old enemy of mine and my friend the Doctor's. Tried to invade my planet plenty of times but never succeeded. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit." Romana sniffed. "Now I _am _ getting old."

"Is that where the two signals are coming from? The Slitheen and the Cybermen?"

Romana shook her head. "No, everything in this museum is stone dead. Both signals are alive, both reaching and calling for help. I can feel it in my bones." Romana touched the glass cabinet with her hand before an alarm went of and she turned to look around to see armed guards rushing in from all sides and cuts them off from the TARDIS.

"If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A." Rose commented.

"Yeah, don't tell them that out loud thanks." Romana retorted as she and Rose held their hands up.

* * *

They were dragged to what looked like an office where a young man called Adam was showing his boss, a man called Van Statten the latest alien gadgets. Romana and Rose being escorted by a woman who introduced herself as Goddard.

"And this is the last. Paid eight hundred thousand dollars for it." He gave Van Statten the alien piece and Statten looked at it as though he didn't really care about it.

"What does it do?"

Adam pointed to some of the tubes on the side. "Well you see the tubes on the side? It must be to channel something, maybe for fuel."

Romana shook her head. "Wrong. Completely wrong. Plus it looks silly when you're holding it like that. It's not going to hurt you."

"Shut it." Goddard commanded but Romana ignored her and reached for the item but firing bolts clicked around her. Van Statten handed her the curved palm object.

Romana held it in the right position and gently stroked the artefact and it made a light note and she smiled. "It's a musical instrument and it's a very long way from home. It must have a delicate touch when you play it."

"Here, let me." Van Statten snatched it of her and began to try it but his touch was harsher and not many nice sounds were produced as it did with Romana.

"I did say delicate. It reacts to the smallest fingerprints so it needs precision." Romana stressed to the man and he finally got the hang of it. "Quite the expert."

Van Statten looked up. "As are you." He casually threw the instrument onto the floor and Romana sighed. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm Romana and I could ask you the same thing."

Van Statten scoffed. "Like you don't know. We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artefacts in the world and you just stumbled in by mistake."

Romana shrugged, digging her hands deeper in her coat pockets. "Pretty much really."

"The real question is though, how did you get in? Fifty three floors down with your little cat burglar accomplice. You're quite a collector yourself, she's rather pretty."

Rose glared at him. "She's going to smack you if you keep calling her a she."

Van Statten laughed. "She's English too!" He turned to Adam. "Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy, got you a girlfriend."

Adam looked nervous. "This is Mister Henry Van Statten."

"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose asked.

"Mister van Statten owns the internet."

Rose snorted. "Don't be stupid. No one owns the internet."

Van Statten winked. "And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way right kids?"

Romana could had a bad feeling about this man. As though he wasn't what he appeared to be and she tensed. "So you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up. Oh, I bet that irritates you." She sneered.

"And you claim greater knowledge?"

"I don't need to make claims, I know exactly how good I am."

Van Statten shook his head, amused. "And yet I captured you. Right next to cage One and Two. What were you doing down there?"

Romana shrugged. "You tell me."

"Both cages contain two of my only living specimen."

"And they are?"

Van Statten laughed. "Like you don't know."

"That's why I am asking."

"You want to see it?"

Rose shook her head. "Blimey, you can smell the testosterone."

Van Statten turned to Goddard. "Goddard, inform both cages we're heading down. You English, look after the girl. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Romana, come and see my pets."

They were outside Cage Number 1 and Van Statten started talking to her about the creature that was held inside it. "We've tried everything. The creature has shielded itself but there's definite signs of life inside."

Romana frowned. "Inside? Inside what?"

A man, who had a name badge that said Simmons walked out of the cage. "Welcome back sir. I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting." Simmons said as he took of his gloves and Romana looked at him disgustedly.

"Metalron?" Romana asked, knowing there was no such thing.

Van Statten looked pleased with himself. "Thought of it myself. Haven't come up with a name yet for the other creature but perhaps I may do soon so you might know. Although, I'd much prefer to find out creature number one name first. Interesting thing is though, both came together, found battered and scared and nobody could go near the Metalron for a long time because it was that hot." Romana frowned deepened. This troubled her greatly. Could whatever inside this cage be what sent her the signal?

Simmons handed her the gloves. "Here, you'd better put these on. The last guy that touched it burst into flames."

"Then I won't touch it. I'm not an idiot." She moved towards the door, her hearts beating widely.

"Go ahead Romana, impress me." He pressed a button in the wall and Romana stepped through the heavy door before it slammed shut behind her. It was dark inside and Romana blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness but they adjusted quickly. Romana shook her head and looked towards the middle of the room.

"Sorry about this. Humans can be stupid at times with things they don't understand. Mister Van Statten thinks he's clever but really, I'm cleverer than him. I've come to help, picked up your signal. I'm Romanavoratrelundar, Romana for short."

A white light blinks next to a blue glow. "Rom-an-a?" An electric voice could be heard and her blood ran cold and she looked at the Dalek, terrified.

"Impossible!" She whispered, her eyes widening with horror. The lights come up to reveal a bad tempered Dalek that was being held in chains and Romana rushed to the door, banging on it, shaking. "But it can't be! You were meant to be extinct!"

"ROMANA! THE PRESIDENT ROMANA?!" The Dalek cried. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Romana hammered on the door and even tried kicking it down. "Let me out! Please let me out!" She pleaded. Why wouldn't they let her out? Couldn't they see she was terrified?

"You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!" Romana looked away from the Dalek. This was it. This was her death, time to join her people at last. The Dalek gun arm raised slightly and twitches but nothing happened and Romana opened her eyes and gave the Dalek a sadistic grin before laughing and walking towards it now feeling unafraid.

"This is brilliant! Ha! Powerless! The great space dustbin." She sneered at it before she spat at the ground near it. "How does it feel to feel so powerless? To face the once all mighty President of Gallifrey?"

"Keep back!" The Dalek tried to warn but Romana stood inches away, staring into its eyepiece.

"What for? If you can't kill me, what are you good for Dalek? You're nothing! Nothing but a monster!" She walked around it, sneering at it. "What the hell are you here for?"

"I am waiting for orders!"

"So?"

"I am a soldier! I was bred to receive orders!"

Romana shrugged. "You're never going to get any. _Never." _She taunted. Oh she loved this! She loved over powering a creature that destroyed her life.

"I demand orders!"

Romana laughed again, throwing her head back. "Your race is dead! You all burnt. Ten million ships on fire. The entire Dalek race wiped out in one second!"

"You lie!"

"Oh I don't lie. You remember me being president of my home planet don't you? You remember me when I was enslaved to your race for twenty years of my life! I never lie!" She snarled. "I watched it happen. I helped to make it happen!"

"You destroyed us?"

"The Doctor helped me. We had no choice because we saw what you were going to do to the rest of the universe." She turned around.

"And what of the Time Lords?"

Romana gulped. "Dead. They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost." She hung her head.

"And the coward survived. The Doctor would have been so proud of you." The Dalek mocked and Romana clenched her fists.

"Oh, and I caught your little signal. Help me. Poor little thing. But there's no one else coming because there's no one else left."

The Dalek lowered it's eyestalk. "I am alone in the universe."

Romana grinned slightly at that, how it should be. But it would be even better if this one died and then there would be no more left. "Yup."

"But you are not. Perhaps we are the same." Romana frowned. What did the Dalek mean she was not alone? Of course she was alone! She was the only one left. Unless, in Cage number two...She really hoped there was another time lord in this base. But if these humans harmed one of her people...

Romana turned to face the Dalek. "We are not the same! But perhaps we are the same when it comes to destroying things and I know what should happen. I know what you deserve after everything you have done to me and my people." She walked over to a lever on a nearby console and grinned. "Exterminate." She pulled the lever and the Dalek lit up with electricity.

"Have pity!" The Dalek cried.

"Why should I? You never did as you destroyed billions of planets! You never did when you enslaved me! You never did when you destroyed my family and friends! So why now?!" She shouted, hand still resting on the lever.

The door of the cage opened and guards grabbed Romana as she made her way to the ramp of the voltage again. Van Statten walked up to the Dalek as Simmons turned off the electricity.

"You've got to destroy it! The Dalek race destroyed my life!" Romana yelled as she struggled against the guards grips, shaking as the guards drag her out and into the lift with Van Statten. She kicked the wall of the lift. Why wouldn't these humans let her have her revenge? Couldn't they see that the Dalek was a monster?

"The metal's just the battle armour. The real Dalek creature inside." Romana told him once she calmed down, she still hasn't seen creature two yet and she tried reaching out for it with her mind but no such luck. The Dalek must be blocking the signal now it knows she is here.

"What does it look like?" Van Statten asked.

Romana sighed and pinched her nose. "A living nightmare. It's a mutation as the Dalek race was genetically engineered and every single emotion was removed except hate. They were genetically engineered by a genius Van Statten. By a man who was King of his own little world. You'd like him."

Goddard interrupted them. "The Dalek and the other creature have been on Earth for other fifty years. The other creature has never aged during that period as though it was immortal. Both were sold at a private auction, moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now? Is the other creature a threat?"

Romana shrugged. "I don't know until I've seen this other creature. But the Dalek knows I'm here because I was President of my home planet during the beginning of the war. How did both creatures get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

Goddard shifted through some files. "The records say both came from the sky like a meteorite. Both fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands burnt in it's crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time both were screaming at each other, ready to attack each other at will. Both must have gone insane." She shook her head.

Romana wanted to see this other creature. Could it be another one of her people had fallen through time with it? "Both must have fallen through time. Will you let me see this cage 2?"

"You talked about a war? With you being President?" Goddard asked, there was respect in Goddard's eyes for her and her posture slightly changed as though she was the President of America.

Romana nodded. "The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek Race. I had to act as President during the beginning of it before I was disposed and was replaced by a mad man who was corrupted."

Van Statten looked at her. "But you survived too."

"Not by choice."

Van Statten looked at the lift doors, hands folded behind his back. "This means that the Dalek and the other creature aren't the only aliens on Earth Romana. There's you. The only one of your kind in existence unless the other creature is the same species but I highly doubt it." Van Statten smirked and Romana's blood ran cold and she shivered, not liking what Van Statten was thinking.


	10. Dalek Part 2

Romana felt her top being lifted above her head and she was stood in only her black sports bra and khaki pants which she was thankful that Van Statten let her keep on before she was thrusted into cold metal chains and they pulled at her arms, lifting her up of the ground and she felt exposed before they did the same with her ankles. She snapped her teeth at him angrily.

Van Statten eyed her hungrily, his eyes running up and down her bare chest. "Now smile!" He grinned before a painful laser ran down her body and she clenched in agony. "Oh! Two hearts! Just like the other creature and a binary vascular system! Except different reproductive systems of course but oh this is perfect for an experiment!"

Romana snarled. "So you kept another one of my people hidden and tortured them just like the Dalek?" She spat at the ground, disgusted. "So this is your secret. You don't just collect objects, you scavenge it."

Van Statten walked next to his laser machine. "This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries. All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh the advances I've made from the alien junk. You have no idea Romana. Broadband? Roswell? Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian crater and do you know what we found? The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course. No need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?" He looked gleeful.

Romana looked sickened. "Do you know what a Dalek is Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. The Dalek and the other Time-Lord in the cages are better than you. Anything is better than you."

He merely shrugged. 'In that case, I will be true to myself and continue." He pressed another button and the laser went down on her and she gritted her teeth in agony, sweat running down her forehead.

Romana tried to lean forwards and tried to break free of the chains but the chains on her wrists and ankles held her back. "Listen to me! I was President of my planet and I know what I am doing. That Dalek down there is going to kill every last one of us!"

"Nothing can escape the cage."

"But it's woken up because it knows that _I _am here along with another one of my people! It knows I am dangerous and it's going to get out. The Dalek race is clever Van Statten, more clever than you will ever be! I swear no one on this base is safe. No one on this planet even!" Romana shouted, sweat coming down from her face but Van Statten ignored her and ran the laser scanner again, causing Romana to scream in agony.

Suddenly as Van Statten was about to do another lase scan, a guard talked through the radio. "Condition Red! Condition Red! I repeat, this is not a drill!" Van Statten looked at Romana.

Roman panted heavily and looked darkly at Van Statten. "Release me and the other Time-Lord if you want to live."

Van Statten held the radio. "Release the creature inside Cage Two and bring it up to me immediately."

"Yes sir." The radio was switched of and Romana was released from the cage and was given back her tank top and coat before heading into a room where there was a large t.v on the wall.

"Whatever you do, you have got to keep it within that cage." Rose appeared on the television screen.

"Romana, it's all my fault." Rose looked scared but Romana ignored her as a guard appeared next to her friend.

"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

Romana snorted, these humans were so dim. "A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat. Trust me, I've seen it happen." Just then, the door of the room opened and another presence in her mind came and Romana turned around sharply to find a guard holding a male Time-Lord, his shirt ripped and bloody along with his proud uniform. He was tall, about six foot with slight floppy black hair and hazel eyes. He had regenerated since she had list seen him but he was still the same as ever but the last she had seen him was just after his collection and Pandora incident.

Romana gaped. "Irving Braxiatel?" She gasped, her eyes wide and Braxiatel looked up, his eyes widening. "Impossible!"

"My lady." Braxiatel bowed, despite the pain and Romana helped him sit down. "I see you got my signal?"

"Only just, I tried to reply but the signal was too weak." Romana admitted. Braxiatel sighed and rubbed his sore wrists, glad to be out of the chains.

"The Dalek must have blocked it. Damn the bloody Daleks."

Van Statten looked between them before turning his attention to his blue-tooth ear piece. "Don't shoot the Dalek! I want it unharmed."

Romana snarled. "Get Rose out of there!"

Goddard sat in front of what appeared to be a hologram of a computer. "We're losing power. It's draining the base. Oh my god," Her eyes widened. "It's draining entire power supplies for the whole of Utah."

"It's downloading." Braxiatel replied simply, his voice hoarse. Statten looked up.

"Downloading what?"

"Sir, the entire west coast has gone down." Goddard spoke.

"It's not just energy the Dalek needs. That Dalek just absorbed the entire internet. It knows everything. Its looking for answers." Romana replied.

"Now the cameras in the vault have gone down." Braxiatel commented, looking at the screen, still weak and Romana handed him a cup of water which he took gratefully.

"We've only got emergency power. It's eaten everything else. You've got to kill it now!" Romana slammed her fists down onto the table.

Goddard flinched before speaking into her blue-tooth. "All guards to converge in the Metaltron cage immediately."

They heard bullets shoot at the Daleks.

"Tell them to stop shooting at it." Van Statten demanded and Goddard looked at him as though he was mad.

"But it's killing them!"

"They're dispensable. That Dalek is unique and I don't want a scratch on it's bodywork. Do you here me?"

The gunfire stops as the Dalek exterminates them. Goddard calls up a schematic of the base, Braxiatel stood up and swayed slightly but with the help of Romana, he manage to stand up and lean against the table to study it along with Romana.

"That's us right below the surface. I take it that's the cage and that's the Dalek." Braxiatel commented, his voice still sounding hoarse.

Romana looked up at Van Statten. "This museum of yours, Have you got any alien weapons? Guns are useless against Daleks."

Goddard nodded. "Lots of them but the trouble is, the Dalek's between us and them."

Van Statten folded his arms. "We've got to keep that thing alive. We could just seal the entire vault and trap it down there."

Romana snarled. "Leaving everyone trapped with it. My companion Rose is down there and I _won't _let that happen. Have you got that? It's got to go through this area." She pointed something at the screen. "What's that?"

"Weapon testing." Goddard replied.

"Even though guns are useless, give them to the technicians, the lawyers, anyone and everyone. The only way we get a chance of killing it." Braxiatel croaked. "However, we need to aim for the eye stalk to truly weaken it."

Van Statten looked between them. "I thought you two were the greatest experts. If you're so impressive Romana, why not just reason with this Dalek? It must be willing to negotiate. There must be something it needs. Everything needs something."

Romana closed her eyes briefly. "What's the nearest town?"

"Salt lake City."

"Population?"

"One million."

"All dead. If the Dalek gets out, it'll murder every living creature. That's all it needs, it's what it did to our people." She indicated to herself and Braxiatel who nodded in agreement.

Van Statten looked shocked. "But why would it do that?"

"Because it believes that anything not Dalek should die. Human beings are different and anything different is wrong. It's the ultimate in racial cleansing and you Van Statten, you've let it lose!" Romana shouted before speaking into a blue-tooth. "Now listen to me all of you. I fought the Daleks plenty of times and know their weaknesses so if you want to live, listen. The Dalek is surrounded by a force field. The bullets will melt before they even hit the shell but it is not indestructible. Concentrate your fire and perhaps you might get through. Aim for the dome, head and the eyepiece. They are the main weaknesses."

"Thank you Romana." A commander spoke to her. "Positions!" They watched on the screen as his men took cover behind various corners anything that can hide behind. Rose and Adam ran into view. "Hold your fire! You two, get the hell out of here!" Rose and Adam ran past a guard at the entrance and stopped for breath and the Dalek entered and turns, zooming in on Rose before Rose and Adam hid from view.

"Why does it want us to watch?" Goddard asked.

"It wants us to see." Romana replied stiffly as everyone hailed bullets and like Romana said, the bullets had no effect. The Dalek then suddenly rose straight up into the air and zaps the fire alarm and the sprinklers are set off. Once the concrete floor was covered with a layer of water, it fires downwards and electrocutes every wet person on the ground.

The commander that spoke to Romana shouted to the remaining troops. "Fall back! Fall back!"

The Dalek exterminates him and the rest of his men with another strategic shot, then it continues to hang there for a few seconds, water pouring down it shell.

Van Statten gulped. "Perhaps it's time for a new strategy. Maybe we should consider abandoning this place."

Goddard glared at him. "Except there's no power to the helipad sir. We can't get out."

Romana turned to him. "You said we could seal the vault."

"_But then wouldn't you lock your companion inside?" _Braxiatel said to her telepathically. Oh it felt good to communicate with another time-lord like this! Her mind had been empty for so long she was about to go insane.

"_If she ran fast enough, she won't."_

Van Statten nodded. "It was designed to be a bunker in the event of a nuclear war. Steel bulkheads."

"But there's not enough power, those bulkheads are massive." Goddard stressed.

"We've got enough emergency power. Myself and Braxiatel can re-route that to the bulkheads." She turned to her fellow time-lord. "Are you up to it?"

"Of course Romana."

"We'd have to bypass the security codes. That would take a computer genius." Goddard shook her head.

Van Statten smirked. "Good thing you got me then." Romana raised her eyebrow at him.

"You want to help?"

Braxiatel scoffed. "Only because he doesn't want to die and he thinks that nobody knows this software better than him." Van Statten was about to retort when the television screen turned itself back on and the Dalek was on the ground.

"I shall speak only to Romana." The Dalek commanded. Romana looked up.

"You're going to get rusty."

"I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler. Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveller regenerated me."

Romana gritted her teeth. "What's your next trick then?" Why couldn't the Daleks just die?

"I have been searching for the Daleks."

"Yeah, I saw that. What did you find?" She shared a quick glance at Braxiatel and she wondered if he knew what happened to Gallifrey.

"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes."

"And?"

"Nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?"

Braxiatel barked out a harsh laugh, making Van Statten look at him with surprise. "A soldier without commands. Ha!"

"Then I shall follow the Primary Order, the Dalek instinct to destroy, to conquer."

Romana walked closer to the screen. "What for? What's the point? Don't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for."

"Then what shall I do?" The Dalek asked.

Romana smirked. "All right then if you want orders. As ex-president of Gallifrey, I command you to kill yourself."

The Dalek moved back a bit, outraged. "The Daleks must survive!"

"The Daleks have failed! Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct? Rid the universe of your filth! To end the misery! Why don't you just die?!" She spat at the screen in anger.

There was a pregnant pause. "You would make a good Dalek." It commented before it turned the screen off.

Romana stood back, horrified and bumped into the table before gripping it and turned to look at Braxiatel with wide eyes. "Am I really that much of a monster?"

"Never a monster Romana. You could never be one." Braxiatel told her sternly. Romana bit her lip before turning to Van Statten.

"Seal the vault." Her and Van Statten began to work at the computers, Braxiatel at her side.

"I can leech power of the ground defences, feed it to the bulkheads. God, it's been years since I had to work this fast." He flexed his fingers and began to type hurriedly.

"Are you enjoying this?" Romana sneered.

"Romana, your friend is still down there." Goddard reminded her. _At least there was one decent human being in this room,_ Romana thought dryly.

Romana rang Rose on her mobile and she heard Rose panting as she ran. "This isn't the best time."

"Where are you?"

"Level forty nine."

Romana nodded. "You've got to keep moving. The vault's being sealed off up at level forty six. I'll try hold it but I can't hold it long."

"Can't you stop them closing?"

"I'm the one who's closing them. I can't wait and I can't help you. Now for Rassilon's sake, run." She left the blue-tooth.

Braxiatel raised an eyebrow. "Still saying Rassilon?"

Romana sighed. "Old habits die hard Braxiatel. Even if he was corrupted." She typed away.

"Done it. We've got power to the bulkheads." Van Statten stated.

"The Dalek is right behind your friend." Braxiatel commented.

"We're nearly there. Give us two seconds." Rose panted.

Van Statten shook his head. "Romana, I can't sustain the power. The whole system is failing. You've got to close the bulkheads."

She remembered when she lost Adric, the Doctor's companion when he defeated the Cybermen. It was painful to lose him and Romana couldn't even begin to imagine how many other companions the Doctor has lost before and after she travelled with him but Rose was only young and her first companion and it was all her fault if Rose didn't make it to the exit. Jackie would never forgive her and she would never forgive herself for this. "I'm sorry." She whispered, more to Rose than to herself and she hit the enter key.

"The vault is sealed." Van Statten stated, Romana turned to her blue-tooth.

"Rose, where are you? Did you make it?" Romana asked, hoping she did.

"Sorry, I was a bit slow. See you then, Romanavoratrelundar. It wasn't your fault. Remember that okay? It wasn't your fault." She could hear Rose's voice breaking. "And do you know what? I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Romana's voice got caught back in her throat. It was Adric all over again. "Exterminate!" They heard the Dalek cry before they heard it's laser being fired and Romana took of her ear-piece and threw it to the ground before she went to Braxiatel who wrapped her in his arms.

"I killed her." She whispered. "My first companion and I_ killed _her."

"I'm sorry." Van Statten replied, not sounding sorry at all. Romana whipped around to face him, fury in her eyes and Van Statten even looked slightly terrified and Braxiatel smirked.

"I said I'd protect her. She was only here because of me and you're sorry? You tortured one of my own people and you're sorry? I could've killed that Dalek in it's cell but you stopped me." She walked over to him and Van Statten leaned back in his chair, terrified of her.

"Both of them were the prize of my collection!" Van Statten protested and Braxiatel looked sickened.

"Your collection? Was it worth it? All those men deaths? Worth Romana's companion's death? Worth my pain? Let me tell you something Van Statten, mankind goes into space to explore, to be part of something greater." Braxiatel sneered in disgust.

"Exactly! I wanted to touch the stars!"

"No, you just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground, underneath tons of sand and dirt and label them like you did with me. You're about as far from the stars you can get and you took Romana's companion down with you!" Braxiatel turned to Romana, eyes softening for her. "How old was she?"

"Only nineteen years old and she's dead because of me." Romana replied and at that moment, Adam enters, rubbing his wrist. "You were quick on your feet, leaving Rose behind."

Adam looked up, startled. "I'm not the one who sealed the vault!" He cried and at that moment, the television screen turns itself on to show Rose and the Dalek outside the bulk.

"You're alive!" Romana cried with happiness and Rose smiled weakly.

"Can't get rid of me."

"I thought you were dead."

"Open the bulkhead!" The Dalek shouted at Romana.

"Don't do it!" Rose warned.

"What use are emotions if you will not save your first human companion?" The room was filled with tension and Romana looked at Braxiatel and Goddard.

"I killed her once. I can't do it again." She pressed a key and the bulkhead opens.

Van Statten gulped. "What do we do now you bleeding heart, What the hell do we do?"

Adam shrugged. "Kill it when it gets here."

Goddard shook her head. "All guns are useless and the alien weapons are in the vault."

"Only the catalogued ones." Adam told her.

"Show me." Romana demanded and her and Braxiatel left the room with Adam and made their way to Adam's workshop, both rummaging through the alien technology.

"Broken. Broken. Hairdryer." Romana commented as she threw the equipment behind her, hearing them clash to the floor. Adam wincing slightly at the sound of the clatter.

"Mister Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff and when he does, he wipes their memory. I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day." Adam spoke, leaning against the boxes.

Braxiatel looked amused. "What, you in a fight? What you going to do, punch your A-Levels at them?"

At that moment, Romana found a massive black gun and she grinned in satisfactory as she turned it on and fixed a little bit with her sonic. "Oh yes! Lock and load!" She cried.

Her and Braxiatel ran up to Level 1, where Rose and the Dalek were. They just arrived when the Dalek opens its middle and dome section to reveal the creature inside it.

"Rose! Get out of the way now!" Romana shouted at her friend. Rose turned to look at her and frowned when she noticed Braxiatel in bloody time-lord robes.

Rose shook her head. "No I won't let you do this."

Romana held her gun. "That thing killed hundreds of people today."

"It's not the one pointing the gun at me." Rose looked at her in disbelief. Couldn't Rose see that the Dalek was a monster?

"I've got to do this. It is my job as ex-president of my home planet! I am responsible for this. The Daleks destroyed our home, our people. We've got nothing left." She indicated towards her and Braxiatel.

"Look at it!" Rose shouted, not backing down as she pointed at the Dalek and she moved out of the way to show Romana and Braxiatel as the Dalek bathed in the sunlight. "It's the sunlight. That's all it wants."

Romana sneered at it.

"Why do we survive?" The Dalek asked.

"I don't know." Of course she knew but she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

"I am the last of the Daleks."

"You're not even that. Rose did more than regenerate you. You've absorbed her DNA. You're mutating." She put her gun down and handed it to Braxiatel, Rose sighed with relief but stopped when she realized what Romana was doing. "Do it. You deserve it."

Braxiatel loaded the gun and before Rose could stand in front of it, he fired at the Dalek and the Dalek blasted into millions of pieces, Rose looking at the remains of the Dalek, horrified.

"The final acts of the time war." Braxiatel commented stiffly as he threw the gun at the floor. "The Time War has finally finished." Braxiatel gave Romana a long warm embrace.

* * *

They walked back to the TARDIS and Braxiatel stroked it. "This was my brother's TARDIS. How on Gallifrey did you manage to get this?"

Romana sighed. "He gave it to me to escape so he could sacrifice himself. I'll tell you the whole story inside." Braxiatel nodded and stepped him.

Rose looked gloomily at her.

"The TARDIS and Braxiatel. Little pieces of home." Romana told her. "You understood why Braxiatel killed the Dalek don't you Rose?"

"To end the Time War." Rose replied stiffly.

Romana nodded. "Now Braxiatel and I are the only ones left. How about that?"

"But it was still no way to kill it. Couldn't you have let it die in the sunlight?"

Romana shook her head. "No. Not after what the Dalek race has done to my people and amongst billions of other planets. No Dalek deserve pity. The Dalek race enslaved me for twenty years on their home planet Rose. I was a slave for them for _twenty years_, I can't forgive them for that."

Rose nodded understandingly. "The Dalek survived. Apart from you and your new boyfriend, maybe some more of your people did too."

Romana gave a slight smile before rolling her eyes. "He's _not _my boyfriend. We'd know. In here." She tapped her forehead. "At the moment there's only Braxiatel in there. My head used to be full of my people back home. Now there's only one."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere."

"Yeah."

At that moment, Adam came up to them. "We'd better get out. Van Statten's disappeared. They're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement like it never existed."

Rose smiled. "About time."

"I'll have to get home."

Romana looked at her watch. "Better hurry up then. Next flight to Heathrow leaves at fifteen hundred hours."

Rose looked pointedly at Romana and gave her the puppy eyes. "Adam was saying that all his life he wanted to see the stars."

"Tell him to go and stand outside then."

"He's all on his own Romana and he did help. Besides, you have your gentleman friend now."

Romana shrugged. "He left you down there."

"So did you."

Adam looked confused. "What're you talking about? We've got to leave."

Romana eyed him. "He's a bit too much of a poster boy isn't he?"

Rose grinned. "I hadn't noticed."

"On your head be it. Though your the one that's explaining the rules and regulations." Romana warned as she went inside the TARDIS, Rose following her.

"What're you doing? She said cement. She wasn't joking. We're going to get sealed in." Adam shouted, peering in. "Romana? Braxiatel? Rose? What are you all doing in there?" Adam creeps into the TARDIS and it dematerialsed


	11. The Long Game Part 1

**Note: I forgot to mention in the last chapter, Braxiatel new regeneration is based on Richard Armitage :) Thanks all for the lovely reviews!**

* * *

Romana was sitting casually in the Captain's chair, her hands resting on her stomach as she listened to Rose explaining the rules and regulations to Adam as she waited for Braxiatel so they could talk about what happened on Gallifrey and with Van Statten. It was a close call with Van Statten as she was sure that she could have killed him but she knew that if she did, she would have been as bad as him and then, she would truly believed she would have become a Dalek. She briefly told Rose what happened with her and Van Statten when he tied her up in chains and she was horrified as was Braxiatel but he had endured worse and Romana couldn't bear to imagine what torture he had to endure.

She heard him in her mind before he even entered the room and she sharply turned her head in the direction of his foot steps and she saw Rose watching her out of the corner of her eyes but she ignored her and Braxiatel walked towards the console room, dressed in a pair of crimson time lord robes but without the silly head gear and he fiddled slightly with his Gallifreyan cuffs and Romana smiled slightly.

"Back to the old robes I see." She commented as she put her legs down and sat up right.

Braxiatel nodded. "All about pride Romana. I've noticed your new regeneration has taken a change to new clothing as well." Rose and Adam looked confused as the time lords talked, wondering what they were talking about but both time lords paid them no attention.

Romana shrugged. "This body was born out of war Braxiatel so it does have it's military sides to it." She turned to Rose. "Rose, why don't you go and show Adam around the TARDIS? I'm sure there is still plenty to look at."

Seeing the look in Romana's eyes, Rose nodded. "Come on, I'll show you around." She dragged Adam by the hand and they watch the humans leave before Romana turned her attention on Braxiatel who was eyeing Adam slightly.

"I'll keep an eye on him if I were you." He said, sitting down next to her.

"I can't keep my eye on everyone you know. How did you survive the Time War?" Romana asked, straight in to the question. She desperately wanted to know because if a Dalek and a Time Lord could escape the Time-Lock, more time lords could as well and that meant more Daleks.

"What do you know up to?"

"Everything up to the Pandora and what you did to Ronan with the cyber-controller and your collection." Romana replied, folding her arms slightly. "Which I was not very pleased when I found out about that."

"My collection meant everything to me, you _must _understand that Romana. Just like with you being President meant everything to you before I took over for a brief time to fill in for Rassilon." He told her coldly. "After the Collection incident, I was captured and tortured by the Deindums before I was rescued by a woman named Bernice Summerfield. We managed to escape the Deindum in the Time-War luckily and I dropped her back to her place in my TARDIS. After that, I was called upon by Rassilon to fight in the time-war and so I reluctantly did. I was put in the position to help our dear president," He sneered. "And was made to do his dirty work for him. Soon enough the Daleks managed to invade our home-world and were attacking everybody in the streets and at that point, I was running an errand for Rassilon when I came across the same Dalek that was in Van Statten's chambers and I had only my two blasters on me at the time and we engaged in fight before there was a bright yellow light, as though we were surrounded by the vortex and we were both pulled through it, both screaming and fighting before we fell to Earth in 1962. Of course, I regenerated then luckily before any humans saw me do it but I was to weak and was too busy recovering to escape from the Dalek to call for help when the humans captured me and well, you know the rest."

Romana sighed. "And since then have you tried to contact any other time-lords?"

"I've tried signalling for anyone. Even my own brother but I have no suck luck. But back in Van Statten's museum, you mentioned that we are the only time-lords left in existence." He leaned forwards, hands clasped. "I must know, is this true?"

The TARDIS gave a gentle hum as though to help Romana to calm her nerves and Romana nodded. "I'm afraid it is."

Braxiatel swore in high Gallifreyan and ran a hand through his hair before looking at her. "And Gallifrey?"

She swallowed. "Burnt."

"How?"

"Your brother and I created a time-lock to lock the time-war inside. We saw what it was doing to the rest of the universe and knew it must be stopped. I created the time-lock whilst The Doctor created the device to burn Gallifrey. Once I finished the time-lock, he made me escape in his TARDIS and I tried to make him come with me, I tried but..." She looked down and a tear escaped her eye before she blinked it away and looked up again. "He destroyed Gallifrey. I don't expect you to agree with what we have done but you must understand _why _we had to do it."

There was a slight pause as Braxiatel took the information in and for a few moments, the only noise was the TARDIS gentle humming before he gave a slight nod. "It will take me a while to accept what you have done Romana. Please, give me that time before I can truly forgive you." He looked at her serious.

"Of course, I didn't expect you to forgive me right away. It would have been very uncharacteristic of you." He stood up as did Romana.

"Now then, how about a little trip to take our mind of things mmm?" He said and he pulled a lever down on the TARDIS console and the TARDIS gave a slight jerk and Romana laughed.

* * *

Romana, Braxiatel and Rose stepped out. Braxiatel still in his time-lord robes, wanting to show his time-lord pride since he was the only remaining Time-Lord left and they looked around their surroundings. Braxiatel sniffing in the air slightly.

"I would say it's the year two hundred thousand and of course, we're on a space station." He commented.

"Two hundred thousand?" Rose asked, she wanted to act like she knew it in front of Adam. Romana didn't understand why, must be a human thing.

"Two hundred thousand." Braxiatel replied more stiffly.

Rose opened the TARDIS door and pulled Adam out and his jaw drops open in awe. "Out you come Adam." Rose said, grinning.

"Oh my god."

Romana grinned, looking at Adam's expression. It was priceless. "If you open your jaw any longer, you'll end up looking like that forever."

Braxiatel looked slightly amused. "This regeneration of yours, it's very cheeky."

"Where are we?" Adam asked, ignoring the time lords.

Rose pretended to look around. "Good question. Let's see, so judging by the architecture, I'd say the year two hundred thousand. If you listen." She looked pleased with herself.

Adam nodded. "Oh yeah."

"Engines. We're on some sort of space station. Yeah, definitely a space station. It's very warm in here, could turn the heating down. Tell you what, let's try that gate. Come on!" She led the three of them to a metal gate which revealed a massive window with a viewing of the Earth.

"Here we go! And this is it. I'll let Braxiatel or Romana describe it." She looked at the Time-Lords.

Braxiatel looked at Romana. "Ladies first."

Romana stepped forward. "The fourth great and bountiful Human Empire. Here is Planet Earth at it's height that is covered with mega-cities, five moons, with the population of ninety-six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species with mankind right in the middle."

Adam fainted and Rose looked unhappy, the two time-lords sniggering slightly.

"He's your boyfriend." Romana shrugged.

"Not anymore." Rose sulked.

After Braxiatel retrieved Adam from his faint, the four of them walked onto what looked like a large room that had a central hub with wheels turning. His arms around Adam's shoulders.

"You humans." He shook his head as he and Adam walked and the ladies walked behind them. "Open your mind Adam! You're going to love this. Really, I have to admit this myself, this is one of the best periods of history. The human race at it's most intelligent with culture, art and politics. This era has got fine food and _very _good manners." As soon as Braxiatel said that however, a man in what appeared to be in a chef suit brushed past him.

"Out of my way!" Romana doubled over laughing and suddenly the room was filled with people bustling around, opening up food from vending stations and cashiers serving customers at the counters.

The same chef that just bumped into Braxiatel spoke to a customer. "Thank you very much. Now, what was it? Kronkburger with cheese, knronkburger with pajatos. Do you want a drink? Oi, you mate! Stop pushing, get back I said!"

Romana and Rose shared an amused look and Romana turned to Braxiatel. "Fine manners?"

Braxiatel walked over to her, his time-lord robes bellowing slightly as he walked. "You must have got the time wrong."

"I'm not the one who flew the TARDIS and besides, my history is perfect thank you. I passed all of my exams back in the Academy unlike your brother.."

Braxiatel looked around, frowning slightly. "My watch must be wrong." He looked down. "That's weird, it's fine. This is very strange."

"That's what it comes to showing off. You may be Time-Lords but your history is not as good as you both thought it was." Rose supplied.

"Our history is perfect thank you." Romana replied.

"Obviously not."

Adam walked back over to them. "They're all human. What about the millions of planets, the millions of species like you said?" He looked at Romana. "Where are they?"

Romana quickly scanned around the room. "That is a _very _good question Adam."

Braxiatel quickly slung his arm around Adam again. "Adam! Adam...you must be starving." He walked over to the food station.

Adam shook his head. "No, I'm just a bit sick."

"You just need some grub. You there, how much is a kronkburger?" Braxiatel asked and the cashier looked up.

"Two credits sweetheart. Now join the queue."

Braxiatel turned to Romana. "Got any money on you?"

Romana patted down her coat before digging through her left coat pocket and she produced what looked like a silver slim card and she handed it to Adam. "There you go. Always prepared you see." She sent Braxiatel a slight smirk.

"Now don't you start." Braxiatel huffed as Adam looked at the money.

"How does it work?" Adam asked.

"Go and find out. Stop nagging us. The thing is Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double or end up kissing complete strangers. So stop asking questions and go and do it." Romana pushed Rose towards Adam. "Off you go then, your first date."

Rose pointed at her, smiling. "You're going to get a smack you are." She left them and Braxiatel turned to Romana, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Kissing complete strangers?"

Romana shrugged. "This new body seems to like it. Come on, let's find out what's wrong." She walked up to two smartly dressed young women.

"Hello, I'm Romana and this is my friend Braxiatel. We are here on business management-" She quickly showed them the psychic paper and the two young women looked wide-eyed and straightened their postures. "And we want to ask you both some questions. Is that all right with you?"

The woman turned to the dark skinned woman. "We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion. I'm Suki and this is Cathica."

Cathica nodded. "Right, fire away. Ask your questions, if it gets me to Floor Five hundred. I'll do anything."

"Tell me where we are." Braxiatel asked.

"Floor One Three Nine on Satellite Five." Cathica replied but looking at them both as though they were mad.

"You mentioned Floor Five Hundred. What exactly happens on Floor Five Hundred?"

Cathica and Suki shared a look. "The walls are made of gold and you should know ma'am, this is what we do." She walked them over to a wall monitor where small television screens were built in.

Cathica pointed to each television screen. "Latest news, sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day. Space lane seventy seven closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel," She walked over to it."The Face of Bo has just announced he's pregnant." Romana smiled at that, wondering when she would next meet her new friend.

Braxiatel nodded. "I get it. You are the news."

"We are. We're the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it. All six hundred channels." Cathica replied, looking serious.

* * *

On floor five hundred it looked cold and frosty and there was a line of people sitting at the computer monitors, watching the particular conversation.

"All coming out of Satellite Five broadcasting everywhere." Cathica finished speaking. A pale-skinned man with white hair and goatee watched the conversation behind the line of people, peering at the screen cautiously.

"Something is wrong. Something fictional. Those people." He instructs a very still, frost encrusted console operator before leaning in to talk to some of the people who were clearly dead in the ears. "Security check. Go deep."

* * *

Romana looked over shoulder to see Adam talking on Rose's mobile whilst she drank some of her drink. "Oi! Love birds, over here." The humans made their way over. "Cathica here is going to show us something interesting." Romana explained to the humans as Cathica led them to the newsroom. "Now watch and listen carefully. I'm not going to explain myself twice."

They found themselves in the newsroom where a large chair was placed in the middle with wires coming out of it and seven people were seated at an octagonal desk. Braxiatel, Romana, Rose and Adam leant against the railings, watching closely.

Cathica turned to them. "Now, everybody behave. We have two management inspectors with us today. How do you want it, by the book?"

Romana nodded. "Right from scratch."

Cathica turned back to her peers. "Okay, ladies, gentleman, multi-sex, undecided or robot-my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni. That's Cathica with a C, in case you want to write to Floor Five hundred, praising me and please do. Now, please feel free to ask questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest and beyond bias. That's company policy."

Suki looked towards Romana and Braxiatel, smiling slightly. "Actually it's the law."

Cathica looked unimpressed. "Yes, thank you Suki. Okay, keep it calm. Don't show off for the guests here we go." Cathica settled down into the chair. "And engage safety." The seven people held their hands over the palm prints that were built into the table and lights started to come on around the room and Cathica clicks her fingers and a small portal opens in her forehead and the seven people put their hands into the palm prints. "And three, two, and spike." A beam of light shines into her head and Romana straightened looking intrigued.

"Compressed information that's streamed right into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer." Romana walked around the seven people, observing.

"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius." Rose commented.

Braxiatel shook his head. "She won't remember any of it. Too much. If she did, her head will blow up. The brain is the processor and as soon as that portal closes," He pointed at Cathica portal. "She forgets."

Rose pointed at the seven people sitting down. "So what about all these people around the edge?"

"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels. Every single fact in the empire beams out of this place." Romana whistled. "Now that is what I call power."

Rose looked over to Adam who looked slightly pale. "You all right?"

"I can see her brain." He whispered.

"Do you want to get out?"

Adam shook his head. "No, just this technology. It's amazing." Braxiatel looked at Adam carefully. He was going to have to keep an eye on this young human. Something was off about him.

"No." Romana stated, looking serious as she turned to them. "This technology is wrong."

Rose sent her a grin. "Trouble?"

Braxiatel sniffed. Yup, definitely trouble. He was definitely taking after his brother. He shook his head. "Oh yeah, trouble all right."

Suddenly, Suki pulled her hands away as if she had just received an electric shock and the other six people lifted their hands of and the information beam shuts down, causing Cathica portal to close. Cathica sat up, looking at Suki. "Come off it Suki, I wasn't even halfway. What was that for?"

Suki frowned, rubbing her hands. "Sorry. It must've been a glitch."

Cathica nodded. "Oh."

"Promotion." The computer suddenly blurted out loudly and everyone turned to face a wall that had the word Promotion on.

Cathica crossed her fingers. "Come on. This is it. Oh god, make it me. Say my name. Say my name." She repeated over again, as if praying.

"Promotion for Suki Macrae Cantrell. Please proceed to floor five hundred." The computer blared out and Suki looked up, shocked.

Cathica rounded on Suki. "How the hell did you manage that? I'm above you."

"I don't know. I just applied on the off chance and they've said yes." She shrugged, standing up.

Cathica glared at her. "That's not fair. I've been applying to Floor Five Hundred for three years."

"What's floor Five hundred?" Rose asked Braxiatel as Romana was too busy watching the conversation.

"The walls are made of gold." He replied and they all made their way back to Floor 139 and went to the lift to say good bye to Suki who already had her suitcase with her.

She turned to Cathica. "I'm going to miss you." She turned to the four of them, offering them a hug."Floor five hundred. Thank you."

Romana and Braxiatel shrugged. "We didn't do anything." Romana replied.

"Well, you're my lucky charm."

"All right, I'll hug anyone. Mr Grumpy here," She punched Braxiatel lightly on the arm and he scowled. "Won't. He's not very huggable." She hugged Suki.

"Come on, it's not that bad." Rose said to Adam.

Adam glanced over at Cathica. "What, with the head thing?"

Rose shrugged. "She's closed it now!"

"Well, but it's everything. It freaks me out. And I just need to cool down. Sort of acclimatise."

Rose frowned. "How do you mean?"

"Maybe I could just go and sit on the observation deck. Would that be all right? Soak it in, you know. Pretend I'm a citizen of the year two hundred thousand."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Rose asked, concerned.

Adam shook his head. "No, you stick with Romana and Braxiatel. You'd rather be with them anyway. I'll be on the deck."

Rose nodded. "I would offer you the TARDIS key but Romana doesn't give out objects like that out easily. She has trust issues I guess." She shrugged.

Adam smiled slightly. "Yeah, not like it's not weird in there." He left Rose and grinned to himself, but he didn't notice Braxiatel eyeing him as he left.

The lift door opens and Suki looked slightly surprised. "Oh my god, I've got to go. I can't keep them waiting. I'm sorry. Say goodbye to Steve for me!" She went in the lift and waved them goodbye. "Bye!" She shouted and the lift closed.

Cathica folded her arms and looked at Romana and Braxiatel gloomily. "Good riddance."

Romana frowned. "You're talking like you'll never see her again. She's only going upstairs."

Cathica raised an eyebrow. "We won't. Once you go to floor five hundred you never come back."

They walked back to the Cafeteria where it was still busy. "Have you ever been up there?" Braxiatel asked, putting his hands behind his back as he walked.

"I can't. You need a key for the lift and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to floor five hundred except for the chosen few." Cathica replied, not sounding very happy at all.


	12. The Long Game Part 2

The four of them including Cathica were back in the Newsroom, Romana casually siting back in the broadcast chair with her feet up.

"Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance. Can't you give it a rest?" Cathica asked.

"You've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" Romana asked, ignoring Cathica question.

"I went to floor sixteen when I first arrived. That's medical. That's when I got my head done and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all." She looked at Romana and Braxiatel. "You're both not even management at all are you?"

"Ah she's finally got it!" Braxiatel replied sarcastically. "She's clever at last!"

Cathica glared at him. "Yeah well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything."

Romana looked at her. "Don't you even ask?"

"Why should I?"

"Well, for starters, you're a journalist. Why is all the crew human?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Romana sat up. "Everything. There's no aliens on board. Why?"

Cathica shrugged. "I don't know. No real reason. They're not banned or anything."

"Then where are they?" Braxiatel stressed, Cathica turned to look at him.

"I suppose immigration tightened up. It's had to, what with all the threats."

"What threats?"

"I don't know, all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space wrap doubled so that kept visitors away. Oh and the government on Chavic Five collapsed so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just lots of little reasons that's all." Cathica replied, feeling uneasy. She was meant to know everything but yet, with Romana and Braxiatel asking her these questions, something was off. As though hidden in plain sight.

"Which then adds up to one great big fact and you didn't even notice." Romana nodded.

"Romana, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."

Romana pointed to herself and Braxiatel. "I'm afraid we see better. This society's the wrong shape, even the technology wrong."

"It's cutting edge."

"It's backwards." Romana corrected. "There's a great big door in your head. You should have chucked that out years ago."

Cathica sighed, wanting to know where Romana was going with this. "So what do you think is going on?"

"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude which I noticed since we first came on board. It's the way people think. The great and bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something is holding back." Braxiatel replied and she turned to look at him.

"And how would you know?"

"Humanity's been set back about ninety years. When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?" Braxiatel asked.

"Ninety years ago." Cathica replied, then her eyes widened in realization before Romana, Braxiatel and Rose dashed of back to Floor 139, Romana sonic in her hands as she fiddled with the computer cupboard.

"I need to build myself a sonic screwdriver." Braxiatel looked thoughtful. "All though, I have managed without it for this long."

"Should build one. Comes in handy." Romana replied as she noticed Cathica come up.

"We are going to get in trouble. You're not allowed to touch the mainframe."

Romana sighed. "Rose, tell her to shut up." She fixed some of the wires with her sonic screwdriver.

Cathica shook her head. "You can't just vandalise the place. Someone's going to notice!"

* * *

Back on floor five hundred, Suki has joined the ranks of the undead at the computer operators. The man in the suit hovering over them, frowning. "I don't understand. We did a full security scan. That man and woman was there when we found Suki Macrae Cantrell. There were no indications about them and yet, here they are, clearly outside the parameters. Fascinating." Suddenly there was a loud growl and snarl and the man turned to face the ceiling. "Yes sir, absolutely. At once." He bowed slightly before turning back to the undead. "Check them. Double check her. Double check him. Triple check them. Quadruple." He pointed to Suki as the loud snarling and growling became more louder.

* * *

Romana seemed to be enjoying herself as she made wires spark amongst the nest of wires in the cupboard, Braxiatel looking amused and not even bothering to help her, looking at her face and how much she was enjoying herself. It was like christmas had come early for her.

"This is nothing to do with me. I'm going back to work." Cathica declared and she walked away a little.

"Go on then, see you!" Braxiatel replied, not even looking up. Not even caring for the human, the human was starting to irritate him anyway.

"But I just can't leave you both can I?"

Rose turned to her. "If you want to be useful, get them to turn the heating down. What's wrong with this place? Braxiatel, you must be boiling in those robes. Can't they do something about the heating?"

Cathica shrugged. "I don't know. We keep asking. Something to do with the turbine."

Romana pulled a comical impression of Cathica, making Braxiatel chuckle with amusement. "Something to do with the turbine."

Cathica threw her hands in the air in frustration. "Well I don't know!"

"Exactly. We give up on you Cathica. Now, Rose. Look at Rose. Rose is asking the right kind of questions." Braxiatel commented. He had to admit, Rose was sensible in some ways.

Rose looked pleased. "Oh thank you."

"Why is it so hot?"

"For starters, you're wearing those robes." Cathica pointed out. "One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's central heating!"

"Well never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing very important." Romana replied and at this moment, she accidently pulled a wire apart and looked up sheepishly, only to see Cathica looking at her in shock whilst the others just shook their heads, amused.

* * *

"Security scan complete." The computer blared out back on Floor Five Hundred,

"Well, who are they?" The man replied.

"They are no one."

The man looked confused before giving a slight snort. They can't be no one. Everyone has to be someone, even these strange looking couple. "What, you mean they both have fake ID'S?"

"They have no identification."

Now this was very strange. Suki was one thing, but to have two people on board with no history is another. The man, he was wearing such strange robes on board such a level that was incredibly hot. As though he was meant to be an important person. He shook his head. "But everyone is registered. We have a census for the entire Empire."

"They are no one." The computer replied.

"What, the couple don't exist? Not anywhere?"

"They are no one."

"What about the blonde?"

"She is no one."

The man gave a slight nervous laugh. "All of them? Well, we all know what happens to non-entities. They get promoted. Bring them up." He commanded.

* * *

Braxiatel produced a monitor in front of Romana with the schematics on it. "Here we go. Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing." He said.

Cathica turned slightly on her heels to face them. "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange and you're looking at pipes?" She scoffed.

Romana frowned, peering at the screen as she pushed back a strand of hair. "There's something wrong."

"Why, what is it?" Rose asked.

Cathica peered at the screen. "The ventilation system. Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out channelling massive amounts of heat down."

Braxiatel nodded. "All the way from the top."

Rose's eyes widened. "Floor Five Hundred."

Romana looked up slightly towards the ceiling. "Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat."

Rose shrugged. "Well I don't know about you three but I feel like I'm missing out on a party. Fancy a trip?" She suggested.

Cathica shook her head. "You can't. You need a key."

Romana rolled her eyes. "Keys are just codes and I've got the codes right here." She showed Cathica the codes, Cathica eyes widening. "Here we go, override two one five point nine."

"How come it's given you the code?" Cathica asked, baffled.

Braxiatel looked at the ceiling. "Someone up there must like us." He said as he stepped in the lift, followed by Rose and Romana, Rose standing between the two time lords.

"Come on, come with us." Rose urged Cathica.

Cathica shook her head furiously. "No way."

"Bye then!" Romana called.

"Well, don't mention my name. When you get in trouble, just don't involve me." She stormed of, leaving the three of them. Romana turned to look at Rose and Braxiatel.

"That's her gone. Adam's given up. Just the three of us then." She commented.

"Yeah." Rose smiled and Braxiatel nodded.

"Good." She pressed the buttons on the lift and the lift doors closed.

Neither one of them talked as the lift ascended upwards before it gave a jerky stop and the lift door slides open and they stepped out into what looked like a frozen room.

"The walls are not made of gold." Braxiatel looked at Rose. "You should go back downstairs."

Rose tugged at her jacket to keep herself warm. "Tough." She stepped out of the lift and Braxiatel looked at Romana.

"_Does she not realize how dangerous this is?" _Braxiatel communicated with Romana telepathically as they walked forwards.

"_I think she has a fair idea with the recent adventurers we've had together. She can be foolish at times but at the end of the day, she does a good job mostly." _Romana replied back before they entered a room to find a man waiting for them and the undead at the computers.

"I started without you. This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you two and blondie here don't exist. Not a trace. No birth, no job, not even the slightest wedding. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?" He looked at Romana and Braxiatel.

Braxiatel chuckled. "Oh no, we're not married." He indicated towards himself and Romana.

Rose noticed Suki at the computer and she dashed over to her, waving a hand in front of her face. "Suki, Suki! Hello? Can you hear me? Suki?" She turned to the man. "What have you done to her?"

"She's dead Rose. So are the others." Romana told her, not taking her eyes of the man in front of her.

Rose looked back at Suki. "She's working."

"They've all got chips in their head and the chips keep going, like puppets." Romana replied and the man laughed.

"Oh! You're full of information. But it's only fair we get some information back, because apparently you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who exactly are you?"

"It doesn't matter, because we're off. Come on." Braxiatel commented and he took Romana's hand and Rose got up to leave only to be grabbed by Suki and four other undead grabbed the time-lords.

"Tell me who you are." The man asked again.

Romana struggled against the undead. "Since that information is keeping us alive, we're hardly going to say it aren't we?" Braxiatel stopped struggling when he saw some slime drip onto his crimson robes and he sneered at it before he stopped struggling and slowly looked up, his eyes widening slightly.

"Well, perhaps my editor in chief can convince you otherwise."

"And who may that be."

"It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans to live, and I haven't introduce myself, I am the Editor." There was a loud growl and snarl and Braxiatel glared at the ceiling.

"Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client." The Editor smirked.

"Romana, look up." Braxiatel commanded and Romana and Rose slowly looked up at the ceiling where they all saw a giant creature that was more like a giant lump stuck to the ceiling with a nasty set of teeth showing and snapping at them.

"What is that?" Rose gasped, wide eyes.

Romana glared at the Editor. "So that's the thing that's in charge of Satellite Five?"

The Editor shrugged. "That _thing, _as you put it, is in charge of the human race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it's broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master and humanity's guiding light," The Editor stood under the creature, his hands out as if praising him. "The mighty Jagrafess of the the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe." He smirked at Romana. "I call him Max."

As soon as he said that, he snapped his fingers at the undead and Romana, Braxiatel and Rose were put in a set of manacles. Braxiatel sighed. "And I thought this was the end of me being chained up." He muttered, he was getting tired of being chained up.

The Editor stood in front of them. "Create a climate of fear and it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilise an economy invent an enemy, change a vote."

Rose shook her head. "So all the people on Earth are like slaves." She looked disgusted.

"Well now, there's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?" The Editor asked.

"Yes." Romana and Braxiatel said in unison.

The Editor chuckled. "Oh, I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? Yes?" He walked up to them closely.

"Yes." Romana replied again, glaring at him.

"You're no fun." The Editor pouted.

Romana shook at her manacles. "Let me out of these manacles and you'll find out how fun I can be."

"Oh she's tough isn't she? But come on, isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."

Rose shook her head. "You can't hide something on this scale. Somebody must have noticed."

Braxiatel sighed. "They did notice Rose. From time to time, but they all have a computer chip inside their head which allows him too see inside their brains and then if he sees a slight of doubt, he crushes it. It's what he did to Suki." Braxiatel replied, looking at Suki.

"Oh two geniuses! But then you are dressed rather smart. But yes, that is correct. They just carry on, living the life, strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're so individual when of course they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing." Romana and Braxiatel spotted Cathica hiding behind a wall near the Editor, observing the scene.

"So what about you? You're not a Jagrabelly-"

"Jagrafess." Romana corrected, still looking at Cathica before looking back at the Editor again.

"Jagrafess. You're not a Jagrafess. You're human."

The Editor smirked. "Yeah, well, simply being human doesn't pay very well."

"But you couldn't have done this all on your own." Rose supplied.

"No, I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little helping hand to install himself."

Romana snorted. "No wonder, a creature that size. What's his life span?"

"Three thousand years." The Editor replied.

"That must have one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. No wonder why Satellite Five is so hot it's because you put it out of the creature and channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive. Satellite Five is then one great big life support system." Braxiatel commented.

"Which then makes you three so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown. So who are you?" The Editor snapped his fingers and energy surges through the manacles.

"Leave her alone! I'm Romana, he's Braxiatel and she's Rose Tyler. We're nothing, we're just wandering!" Romana gritted through her teeth as Rose winced in pain.

"Tell me who you are!" The Editor asked.

"She just said!" Braxiatel snapped, more used to the pain.

"Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly-" He stopped and the Jagrafess gave a loud growl and the Editor smirked in delight. "Time Lord and Time Lady."

Romana stopped struggling and blinked. "What?"

The Editor laughed. "Oh yes! The last of the Time Lords and their travelling machine with their little human companion from so long ago."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Romana replied.

The Editor smirked. "Time Travel."

"How do you know?" Braxiatel commented, knowing the Editor had finally learnt the truth of them some how.

"Young master Adam Mitchell?" The Editor snapped his fingers and a holo-monitor showed Adam in the broadcast chair, his head being spiked.

Rose looked at him with horror. "Oh my god his head!"

"Told you Romana to keep an eye on him!" Braxiatel chided.

"What the hell has he gone and done? He's broken some of the most important rules on time-travelling! They're reading his mind, he's telling them _everything._" Romana looked at Adam with horror, ignoring Braxiatel comment.

The Editor nodded. "And through him, I know everything about you two. Every piece of information in his head is now mind and you both have such infinite knowledge, Romana and Braxiatel. The human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your TARDIS." He turned to Braxiatel. "Or rather your brother's TARDIS."

Braxiatel struggled against the chains. He would not let the editor get his hands on their TARDIS. "You're never going to get your hands on it. We'll die first."

The Editor shrugged. "Die all you like because once you die, I can root for the key."

Romana turned to Rose, snarling. "You and your boyfriends!" Rose winced.

"_At least you didn't give Rose the TARDIS key." _Braxiatel supplied to Romana telepathically.

"_Now really not the time Braxiatel."_

"Today, we are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing." The Editor grinned.

"And no one's going to stop you because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold." Romana said, taking a quick glance at Cathica and the Jagrafess snarled and Cathica left the room.

The Editor suddenly frowned. "What's happening?" He turned around. "Someone's disengaged the safety. Who's that?" He calls up another image but this time its hows Cathica sitting in the floor 500 newsroom.

"It's Cathica." Rose blinked, surprised.

"She's thinking. Using what she knows." Romana gave a slight grin.

"Terminate her access!" The Editor called to the undead.

"Everything we've told her about Satellite Five, the pipes, the filters, she's reversing it. Look at that." Braxiatel commented as he noticed the icicles starting to melt.

"Getting hot." Romana nodded.

The Editor walked over to Suki. "I said, terminate. Burn out her mind."

The console explodes and the dead at the operating computers finally collapse and they hear an alarm. Rose finally managed to break free of the manacles.

"She's venting up the heat up here. The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano!" Romana grinned.

The Editor looked up at the Jagrafess. "Yes, I'm trying sir, but I don't know how she did it. It's impossible. A member of staff with an idea." He pushed Suki out of her seat and Rose grabbed Romana's sonic screwdriver and tried to free Romana and Braxiatel.

"What do I do?" Rose asked, looking at it.

"Flick the switch!" Romana cried and Rose did and Romana was free and she quickly freed Braxiatel. "Hey, Editor! Want to bank on certainty? Massive heat in a massive body means massive bang. See you in the headlines!" They hurriedly leave the room, narrowly missing a large icicle that fell to the ground and made their way over to Cathica, just missing the Jagrafess being exploded. Braxiatel snapped his fingers and Cathica portal closes and Cathica opened her eyes.

The four of them made their way down to floor 139 where many people were helping the injured.

"We're going to go. We hate tidying up and there'll be too many questions. You'll manage." Romana told Cathica, Braxiatel glaring at Adam who stood in the distance.

"You'll have to stay and explain it. No one's going to believe me." Cathica looked flabbergasted.

"Oh they might start believing a lot of things now. The human race should accelerate. All back to normal."

Cathica nodded before looking at Adam. "What about your friend?"

"He's not our friend." Braxiatel stated and he stormed over to Adam.

"I'm all right now. Much better." Braxiatel opened the TARDIS door. "Look, it all worked out for the best didn't it? You know, it's not actually my fault because you were in charge." Braxiatel pushed Adam into the TARDIS, followed by Rose and Romana and set the coordinates for Adam's home before he quickly pushed Adam out of the TARDIS and into Adam's living room.

"It's my house. I'm home!" Adam smiled. "Oh my god, I'm home! Blimey, I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock."

Romana glared at him. "Is there something else you want to tell me?"

Adam flinched underneath her gaze. "No, what do you mean?" Braxiatel walked over to the answering machine and picked it up.

"The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world." He held out his hand and Romana chucked the sonic screwdriver at him and soniced the telephone where it exploded. Adam flinched. "That's it. See you." He made his way back over to the TARDIS.

Adam turned to face him. "How do you mean, see you?"

"Goodbye. You broke some of the most important rules of travelling Adam." Romana stated.

"But what about me? You can't just go, I've got my head. I've got a chip type two. My head opens." He pointed at his forehead.

"What like this?" Romana clicked her fingers and Braxiatel smirked as Adam portal opened.

"Don't." Adam groaned out and he closed it.

"Don't do what?" Braxiatel smirked and he snapped his fingers.

"Stop it!" Adam glared at him and he closed his portal again.

Rose went in between the time lords and Adam. "All right now, Romana, Braxiatel, that's enough. Stop it."

Adam sighed with relief. "Thank you."

Rose snapped her fingers and the portal opened and Adam sent her a glare. "Oi!"

Rose sniggered. "Sorry, couldn't resist." Braxiatel smirked as Adam closed the portal again.

"I just wanted to help." Adam protested to Romana.

Romana barked out a harsh laugh. "You just wanted to help yourself. You broke the rules and regulations of time-travelling, you can't travel with us anymore."

"And I'm sorry! I've said I'm sorry and I really am but you can't just leave me like this." Adam protested.

"We can and we will." Braxiatel told him. "Because if you show that head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble and be very boring." He made his way back into the TARDIS.

"But I want to come with you."

Romana sighed. "You broke the rules Adam, I can't forgive you for that. Besides, I only take the best. I've got Rose and Braxiatel with me." Suddenly, Adam's front door opens and Adam looked at Rose panicky.

"Rose, Rose, oh my god." Romana followed in after Braxiatel.

"Who's that? Geoff, is that you?" Adam's mum called.

"It's me mum. Don't come in. Wait there a minute."

"Oh my lord! You never told me you were coming home! Hold on, I'll just take my coat off. You should've told me that you were coming home! I've would of got your favourite tea." Rose smiled at that and Adam looked at her desperately.

"Rose, take me with you."

The TARDIS engines started and Rose shook her head and went inside and it dematerialises.

Adam's mother came into the room. "Hey, what's that noise? Have you left the back door open? Blimey there's a draft." She smiled upon seeing Adam. "What a surprise. Oh, let me look at you. Oh, six months. It's like I saw you yesterday. Isn't it funny? Time goes by like that." She snapped her fingers and her mouth drops open in horror.


	13. Father's Day Part 1

Rose had gone to bed, claiming she was tired and Romana headed to the library, wanting to work on a project that she was working on. It was a book that she was working on, a book about the Time War. It was only right, that if she and Braxiatel should die, there should be a book about the events and what truly happened in the terrible war. Someone had to know of it. Know that the Time Lords didn't die in vain.

She got out a brown cloth-bounded book and dusted of the dust before dipping in her feather quilt pen in ink and began to write in Gallifreyan, the room filled with silence. The library was a massive room, filled with shelves upon shelves with different books and it was peaceful. After the incident with Adam, she needed somewhere where she could rest her mind for a while.

Adam had been extremely foolish. Braxiatel took him to Satellite Five for fun, not for his own gain and Braxiatel was right, she was going to have to watch who she was bringing into the TARDIS next to time and she was lucky that she didn't give Rose the TARDIS key. Rose founded the library boring when Romana showed her around and Romana wondered how some of the human species could find books boring and she shook her head. Books were some of the best things in the universe.

She was so preoccupied with writing the book she did not notice Braxiatel come in or stand over her, watching her as she wrote and almost jumped out of her skin when he read a passage out loud . "_And so the world descended into chaos with the skies of Gallifrey as Gallifrey the once almighty planet turned into a pit of hell." _Braxiatel read out loud and Romana scowled at him as she put down her feather quill. "Little bit too dramatic don't you think?" He asked as he walked over to a cabinet where there was a bottle of whiskey in and he poured himself and Romana a glass of white wine which she took gratefully.

Romana shrugged. "Sometimes dramatic is needed."

Braxiatel sat in the big comfy armchair opposite her, crossing his legs as he sipped his whiskey. "Why the book?"

"Both you and I must die one day eventually and by then, no one may know what truly happened to our people or Gallifrey but yet, someone must know what happened, just so our people can be somewhat remembered and what Gallifrey once stood for."

"So you want to tell the tale? This book you are writing could fall into the wrong hands you know." Braxiatel warned.

"Then I hope it will not come to that." Romana supplied. "Would you care to help me with the book?"

Braxiatel laughed. "No, after my collection I don't think I will. I'm surprised you still trust me Romana."

"With you wiping my memory when I was a student and the incidents after that? We are the only Time Lords left in existence and for a while, I thought I was the only one and it was horrible. The guilt I carried and still carry with me and the nightmares I have, I can't bear to be alone after that." Romana sighed and hung her head before finishing off her wine.

There was a slight pause as Braxiatel studied her. She had changed a lot since he last saw her but then, the Time War changed everybody, even the young time tots. Which then made him realize why he wanted to speak with Romana in the first place. "Romana, since Gallifrey has fallen, you don't think the Pythia curse has broken do you?"

Romana looked up, slightly startled at the sudden change of topic. The Pythia curse was a curse where a visionary cursed female Gallifreyans so they were unable to reproduce naturally and therefore, most of the Time Lords were born out of looms. But the curse was broken slightly when if she remembered correctly, Leela gave birth to Andred's son, who was a Time lord. "Back on Gallifrey before the war turned into chaos, there was a human the doctor befriended- a human named Leela. You may have known her since she married Andred?" Romana suggested, wincing slightly as she remembered killing her friend's husband whilst under the influence of Pandora.

Braxiatel nodded. "I heard my brother mention her yes. I was more familiar with Andred however."

"Somehow, the Doctor broke the Pythia curse so Leela could bear Andred a child and she did. It was a beautiful baby boy and he was very healthy so I guess the Doctor did break the Pythia curse for good." She frowned and looked at him curiously. "Where are you going with this conversation?"

Braxiatel put his glass of whiskey down on the table beside him and leaned forward, his hands clasped. "Since we are the only remaining Time Lord and Time Lady in existence, I was wondering about looming."

"You mean you want me to conceive you a child?" She raised an eyebrow, not liking how this conversation is turning out and she stiffened.

"To put it bluntly yes."

Romana put her book to the side and stood up and walked over to him before slapping him hard across the face twice, Braxiatel looking slightly alarmed before he quickly blinked, rubbing his cheek which now left a nasty bright red mark. "I am not a breeding animal. Just because I am the last remaining Time-Lady, it doesn't mean that I can breed for you and it doesn't mean that I have lost my rights as a woman!" She snarled and she stormed out of the room, furious.

Braxiatel sighed and sat back in his chair, the TARDIS sending him an angry hum and removed the door so he could not follow after her. _Perhaps I was a bit to harsh. _He thought as he finished his whiskey. _She is right, she is not a breeding animal, but a highly respective and beautiful woman._

* * *

It had been a few hours since Braxiatel and Romana's disagreement and Rose came into the TARDIS room fully rested, only to find them not talking to each other as Romana worked furiously at the TARDIS console. "Blimey, you can smell the tension all the way down the hall way. You two haven't killed anyone have you?" Rose asked, looking back and forth between the two time lords but neither of them said anything and Rose wondered what went wrong before clearing her throat. "I want to see my dad."

This caught Romana's attention and she stopped what she was doing before she sat in the Captain's chair, ignoring Braxiatel. "My dad, Peter Alan Tyler. The most wonderful man in the world. Born 15th September 1954. He died at my parent's friends wedding, Stuart and Sarah Hoskins. That what my mum always says. So I was thinking, could we, could we go and see my dad when he was still alive?" Rose asked her.

Romana frowned. "Where this come from all of a sudden?"

Rose looked down. "All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of time or something, then never mind. Just leave it."

Romana sighed. "No, I can do anything. I'm more concerned about you."

Rose looked up. "I want to see him."

"Your wish is my command. But be careful what you wish for." At first Rose asked them to attend her parents wedding and they did. They arrived at the register office, sitting in the back and staying hidden in the shadows. Braxiatel stayed in the TARDIS however as he and Romana still had their little disagreement earlier.

The registrar turned to Peter Tyler. "I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice."

Peter held Jackie's hands. "I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Suzanne Suzette Anite-" Romana gave a slight smile.

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Oh just carry on. It's good enough for Lady Di."

Rose commented to Romana. "I thought he'd be taller."

The registrar continued. "To be my lawful wedded wife, to love and behold till death do us part."

They went back into the TARDIS, Braxiatel sitting in the Captain's chair. "Nobody was there when he died. It was a hit and run driver, never found out who he was. He was dead when the ambulance got there. I only wish there'd been someone there for him." Rose said as she looked at Romana. "I want to be that someone, so he doesn't die alone."

Romana nodded as she walked to the console, understanding what Rose was saying. "November the 7th?" She asked.

"1987." Rose replied.

"_Be careful what you're doing Romana." _Braxiatel warned her but Romana shut him of and he rolled his eyes.

The TARDIS parked herself between a telephone junction box and a road sign, Rose stepping out of the TARDIS followed by the two time lords. Rose looked around. "It's so weird. The day my father died. I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day."

"The past is another country. 1987's just the Isle of Wight. Are you sure about this?" Romana asked, looking concerned.

Rose nodded. "Yeah." She said as she led them to the exact road and the three of them stood on the pavement, watching. "This is it. Jordan Road. He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, that stupid vase." A green car came around the corner. "He got out of his car." The car pulled into the kerb and they saw it was Peter. "Oh god, this is it." Rose sniffed and Romana took Rose's hands as though trying to offer her some sort of comfort. Suddenly as Peter got out of the car, a beige car came around the corner and straight into Peter, the driver shielded his face with his arm and kept going, leaving Peter and the broken vase in the middle of the road and Peter struggled to move.

"Go to him, quick." Romana urged but it was too late as they heard sirens approach.

Rose shook her head. "It's too late now. By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead. He can't die on his own." She looked at Romana, tears in her eyes. "Can I try again?"

"_Romana don't do what your thinking!" _Braxiatel shouted in her mind but it was to late, Romana reversed time slightly and the three of them hid around the corner and saw them past selves standing on the kerb.

"That's the first us and I am not meant to be doing this as it could lead us to all sorts of trouble." Romana explained. "Two sets of us being here at the same time is just dangerous. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait until you run off and we follow, then go to your dad."

Peter parks at the kerb again. "I can't do this." Rose sniffed.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but this is the last time we can be here." Romana told her but as soon as she finished her sentence, Rose ran forward to Peter and past their past selves, Romana and Braxiatel looking horrified.

"Rose, No!" Romana shouted angrily as Rose pushes her father out of the path of the beige car, the vase rolls away, unbroken and the earlier Romana, Braxiatel and Romana vanished.

"_You broke the laws of time Romana!" _Braxiatel chided angrily.

"_Shut up Braxiatel. I am not in the mood with you right now." _She ran a hand through her hair angrily.

"I did it. I saved your life." Rose gasped as she looked at Peter.

"Blimey, did you see the speed of it? Did you get his number?" Peter asked, looking at where the car was a few seconds ago.

"I really did it. Oh my god, look at you. You're alive! That car was going to kill you!" Rose exclaimed.

Peter tucked in his shirt. "Give me some credit, I did see it coming. I wasn't going to walk under it, was I?"

"I'm Rose." Rose smiled.

Peter gave a light smile back."That's a coincidence. That's my daughter's name."

Rose nodded, happy to be with her father. "That's a great name. Good choice. Well done."

"Right, I'd better shift. I've got a wedding to go to." He nodded.

"Is that Sarah Clarke's wedding?"

"Yeah, are you going?"

"Yeah."

Peter looked over to wear Braxiatel and Romana stood, both looking furious at Rose and Rose ducked her head underneath their gaze. "You and your parents need a lift?"

* * *

They arrived at Peter's flat where inside it they found it was a mess. "Right, there we go. Sorry about the mess. If you want a cup of tea, the kitchen just down there, milk in the fridge. Well, it would be wouldn't it? Where else would you put the milk? Mind you, there's always the window sill outside. I always thought if someone invented a window sill with a special compartments you know, one for milk, one for yogurt, make a lot of money out of that. Sell it to students and things. I should write that down. Anyway, never mind that, excuse me for a minute. Got to go and get change." He went into his bedroom, leaving the three of them in the living room which was filled with types of fizzy drinks and awards.

Rose looked around, trying to avoid both Time-Lords gazes. "All the stuff my mum kept. His stuff. Kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard. She used to show me when she'd had a bit to much to drink. Here it is, on display. Where it should be." She walked over to some of the awards. "Third prize at the bowling. First two got to go to Didcot. Health drinks. Tonics, mum used to call them. He made his money selling this vitex stuff. He had all sorts of stuff. He was so clever." She smiled largely when she saw some solar power. "Solar power. Mum said, he was going to do this and now he can." Rose sighed and looked at the two time lords. "Okay, look, I'll tell him you're not my parents."

"When I met, you didn't move when I said my TARDIS could travel in space but then as soon as I said time, you budge." Romana glared at her, folding her arms.

Rose shrugged. "It wasn't some big plan. I just saw it happening and I thought, I can stop it."

Romana turned to Braxiatel. "How your brother manages to pick up all the clever and brave companions and yet I manage to get the stupid ape I'll never know." She shook her head. "I've should of known. Just like Adam. It's not about showing you the universe, never is with you people. It's about the universe doing something for you."

"So it's okay when you go to other times and you save people's lives, but not when it's me saving my dad?"

"We know what we're doing, you don't. You forget Rose I was President of Gallifrey, my people used to control time. You don't. Two sets of us being there made that a vulnerable point." Romana raised her voice slightly, Rose was beginning to irritate her. How could of she been so stupid? On top of that she was mad at Braxiatel and he was mad at her.

"But he's alive!" Rose protested.

"Our entire planet died! Our whole families and friends burnt in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything!" Romana yelled. Do you think it never occurred to us to go back and save them?"

"But it's not like I've changed history. Not much. I mean he's never going to be a world leader. He's not going to start World War Three or anything." Rose protested, trying to make the two time-lords see her point.

Braxiatel shook his head. "Rose, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. A simple, boring man. The whole world's different because he's alive."

Rose turned to Braxiatel, looking slightly angry and hurt."What, would you rather him dead?"

"Yes because then none of this would of happened!"

Rose shook her head and stepped away from the Time-Lords. "No, I get it! For once, you're not the most important people in my life."

Romana snarled. "Let's see how you get on without us then. Come on Braxiatel, we're leaving." Romana turned on her heels and headed for the doorway, Braxiatel following after her. "You've got what you wanted, so that's good bye." Romana hissed as she reached the door.

"You both don't scare me. I know how sad you both are. You'll be back in a minute or you'll hang around the TARDIS waiting for me and I'll make you wait a long time!" Romana and Braxiatel left, ignoring her and Rose slammed the door behind them.

Romana stormed of furious. "I can't believe I _chose her_! Of all people in the universe and I've chosen a stupid human ape!"

"Your own fault for doing it Romana. You of all people should know that." Braxiatel commented, his Time Lord robes whipping about at his feet as they headed back towards the TARDIS.

"All right, I was trying to be clever. You know, being the last remaining Time Lords?" She shook her head as she turned onto the street the TARDIS was on, Romana digging for her key. "Look at where that ended up!"

"Well next time, don't be clever."

"Shut up. Don't think I have forgiven you for earlier." Romana warned and they stood outside the TARDIS door, Romana looking up for a brief moment before she got out the TARDIS key and she unlocked it and opened them, only to reveal an empty Police Telephone box. Romana stood inside, looking frantic as she pressed her hands against the wooden box. "No!" She groaned and she ran back out, Braxiatel shaking his head. "Rose!"


	14. Father's Day Part 2

Romana and Braxiatel manage to run to the church where the wedding was, just as a young Mickey ran inside it and they turned around the corner to see Rose standing near the gates of the church and she smirked, knowing Romana and Braxiatel would come back to get her sooner or later.

"Rose! Get inside the church!" Romana shouted and the smirked was wiped of Rose's face as the two time-lords looked up to see a large bat-like creature appear in the sky. Rose turned and saw it and she screamed but Braxiatel pushed her to the pavement just in time to avoid the creatures talons.

"Get in the church!" Braxiatel yelled and everyone obeyed.

"Oh my god, what are they?" Suzie asked, dashing inside, petrified.

"Inside!" Romana ushered her inside, not having any time to explain.

"Sarah!" Stuart yelled but as soon as he yelled it, Stuart's dad tried to run away but he got pounced on and another blocked Sarah's path and she screamed but the one in front of her went for the vicar and she manage to get in just as Romana secured the doors of the church. The creatures tried to get in but couldn't and they heard the creatures trying to get in the church, banging on the door and scraping at the walls of the church.

Romana strolled to the front. "They can't get in. Old windows and doors. Okay, the older something is, the stronger it is. Which makes us two a plus," She said to Braxiatel before turning to the humans. "What else? Now everyone else, go and check the other doors and windows. Move!"

Jackie approached her. "What's happening? What are they?"

Romana sighed, she thought she'd seen enough of Jackie Tyler. Apparently she hadn't. "There's been an accident in time. A wound in time. They're like bacteria, taking advantage. Though I wouldn't expect you to understand."

Jackie frowned. "What do you mean, time? What're you jabbering on about time?"

"Oh, I might've known you'd argue Jackie. I'm sick of you complaining all the time."

"How do you know my name? I've never met you in my life!"Jackie argued back.

"No, and you never will unless I sort this out. Now if you don't mind I have been wanting to say this for a very long time, Jackie Tyler, go and do as I say, go and check the doors!" Romana pointed towards the backdoors, Jackie looking shocked at the way she was being talked to.

Jackie gave a curt nod. "Yes ma'am." She dashed of and Romana looked at Braxiatel.

"Should of done that ages ago."

"So that's the infamous Jackie Tyler." Braxiatel nodded, eyeing the woman as she left.

Stuart then came up to them, carrying an old fashioned mobile phone. "My dad was out there."

"You can mourn him later." Braxiatel supplied.

Stuart shook his head. "No, but he had this phone thing. I can't get it to work. I keep getting this voice." Romana took the phone of him so she and Braxiatel could listen to it.

"_Watson, come here, I need you. Watson, come here-"_ The message kept repeating itself and Romana grinned.

"That's the very first phone call. Alexander Graham Bell. I don't think the telephone's going to be much use."

Stuart took the phone of them. "But someone must have called the police."

Braxiatel shook his head. "Police can't help you now. Nothing in this universe can harm those things. Time's been damaged and they've come to sterilise the wound by consuming everything inside." At that moment, Rose came up and ignored Romana's glare as she did so.

"Is this all my fault?" She asked but Romana nor Braxiatel answered her and she sighed and she walked off. Romana walked over to Peter who was in the vestry, all the signings out for the register and he was looking at the window where smoke could be seen and he shook his head.

"There's smoke coming up from the city but no sirens. I don't think it's just us. I think these things are all over the place. Maybe the whole world." He commented when suddenly the very same beige car that tried to hit Peter appeared and it turned the corner, the driver covering his face before it disappeared again. Peter blinked. "Was that a car?"

Romana shook her head. "It's not important. Don't worry." But of course, it was important, the only way out of this mess but she didn't dare say it outloud. "Let's go back to the others." They walked back to the main bit where Rose was standing by the alter and Peter walked up to her, glancing over at Braxiatel and Romana.

"Your parents, what did they mean it's all your fault?"

Rose shook her head. "They're not my parents. Just...friends. Don't know, everything." She shrugged, looking hopeless.

Peter studied her. "I gave you my car keys. You don't give your keys to a complete stranger. It's like I trusted you. Moment I met you, I just did. Wound in time. You called me Dad." He looked into her eyes. "I can see it. My eyes, Jackie's attitude. You sound like her when you shout. You are. You're my Rose. You're my Rose, grown up." They both cried and gave each other a long warm father and daughter hug.

"Dad. My dad. My Daddy." Rose sniffed. Romana shared a quick look at them before shaking her head and walked over to a curtain and pulled it aside, Braxiatel standing near her as she got out her sonic screwdriver. She was still angry at him, Romana knew. But she knew she couldn't be angry with Braxiatel forever.

Stuart and his soon to be wife Sarah suddenly walked up to them, Stuart looking slightly nervous. "You seem to know what's going on." Stuart commented, looking back and forth at them.

Romana nodded. "Well I have that impression."

"I just wanted to ask-"

"Can you save us?" Sarah asked, rubbing her stomach and Romana noticed she was pregnant. She glanced over at Braxiatel. She said to Jackie Tyler in Downing Street, she always wanted to be a mother and thought she'll never have the chance. But with Braxiatel, could they? Is the Pythia curse truly broken?

Romana stopped her sonic and turned to look at them properly. "Who are you two then?"

"Stuart Hoskins."

"Sarah Clark."

Romana looked at Sarah's stomach. "And one extra. Boy or girl?"

Sarah rubbed her stomach again, smiling. "I don't know, want it to be a surprise really."

Romana shared another quick glance at Braxiatel and he sent her a small smile and she ducked her head underneath his gaze before looking back at Stuart and Sarah. "How did it start?"

Stuart smiled at Sarah. "Outside the Beatbox Club, two in the morning."

Sarah shuffled her feet. "Street corner. I'd lost my purse, didn't have money for a taxi."

"So I took her home." Stuart looked at Sarah as though she was the most beautiful woman in the world and Romana wished someone would look at her like that, look at her and tell her she's beautiful and not a monster.

"And then what?" Romana was genuine curious. "Asked her for a date?"

"Wrote his number on the back of my hand. Never got rid of him since."

Stuart shook his head. "I don't know what this is all about and I know we're not important-"

Romana raised an eyebrow. "Who said you're not important? Myself and Braxiatel have travelled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn't even imagine and seen in things you should've of seen. But you two, street corner, two in the morning getting a taxi home." Romana smiled sadly. "I've never had a life like that. Will never have a life like yours. Never. But yes, we'll try and save you." Stuart and Sarah smiled. That was all they needed to hear. Reassurance.

A little while later, Romana and Braxiatel stood in front of baby Rose. Romana sitting down and Braxiatel standing up.

"I'm thinking about what you said earlier." Romana commented. "Back in the TARDIS."

"Oh?"

"I've never been a mother Braxiatel. The closest I've been was an Auntie to Leela's child and even then that was briefly. I think...I would like to have a child but not right now. My life's too dangerous and besides, I want it done the right way."

"What way?" He asked suspiciously.

"You'll have to try win my hearts over first." She smirked before she turned to Rose the baby, cooing, leaving Braxiatel looking stunned."Now Rose, when you're all grown up you're not going to bring about the end of the world and cause hell are you?" The baby looked at her blankly. "Are you?"

The real Rose walked up next to them, frowning. "Jackie gave her to us to look after. How times change." Romana shook her head.

"I'd better be careful. I think I just imprinted myself on Mickey like mother chicken." Rose was about to touch her younger self when Braxiatel held her hands back and she looked up, startled.

"No, don't touch the baby. You're both the same person and if you touch you, it'll cause a paradox and we don't want a paradox happening, not with them outside." He nodded towards the creatures that were flying around the window. "Anything new, any disturbance in time can make them stronger and the paradox might let them in."

Rose put her hands down to the side and she hung her head. "Can't do anything right can I?"

Romana rolled her eyes. "Since you asked, no, so don't touch the baby." She raised her voice slightly.

Rose glared at her. "I'm not stupid."

Romana scoffed. "You could have fooled us. All right, myself and Braxiatel would admit, we weren't really going to leave you on your own."

Rose nodded. "I know."

Braxiatel cleared his throat. "Just between the three of us though, neither of us have got a plan. No way out."

Rose looked between them. "Both of you will think of something. You always think of something."

Romana shook her head. "The entire Earth's been sterilised. This and other places like it are all that's left of the human race. We might hold out for a while, but nothing can stop those creatures. They'll get through in the end. The walls aren't that old and there's nothing I can do to stop them." Romana sighed and closed her eyes briefly. "Back on our home planet there used to be laws to stop this kind of thing from happening. Our people would have stopped this but they're all gone and now Braxiatel and I are the only ones left."

Rose bit her lip. "If I'd realised-"

"Just tell us you're sorry."

Rose looked at her seriously. "I am sorry. Really, I am." She moved to hug Romana but snatched her hand away as she touched Romana's coat pocket. Rose frowned. "Have you got something hot in your coat?"

Romana shrugged before she reached inside her pocket and took out the TARDIS key but dropped it and hissed as it was too hot. "The TARDIS key!" She exclaimed and Braxiatel carefully picked it up with his robes, sharing a grin with Romana.

"It's telling us it's still connected to the TARDIS. My brother's TARDIS is not so useless after all." He grinned and he runs up the steps to make an announcement from the pulpit as Romana fixed the key in mid-air.

"The inside of our ship was thrown out of the wound but we can use this to bring it back and once we've got our ship back, then we can mend everything. Now all we need is a bit of power. Has anybody got a battery?"

Stuart picked up the large mobile phone and handed it to Romana who was nearest. "This one big enough?" He asked and Romana grinned.

"Brilliant." She said warmly as she took it.

Stuart gave a slight smile back. "Good old Dad. There you go."

"Just need to do a bit of charging up and then hopefully we can bring everyone back." Romana got out her sonic screwdriver and began to sonic the phone whilst the creatures began to bang at the doors, Rose and Peter having a quiet talk at the side. Romana and Braxiatel patiently watching the key.

"Are you sure?" Braxiatel asked Romana, as they sat and watched side by side.

"Sure about what?"

"Sure about me?"

"I'm not sure of anything these days Braxiatel. But I'll tell you now, I am _not _going to repopulate Gallifrey if that's what you're thinking." She warned him just as the TARDIS materialises around her key and Romana stood up to face the humans, clearing her throat loudly so she could gain their attention. "No one touches that key. Have you got that? Don't touch it. Anyone who touches that key, our last remaining hope is gone. Zap! Just leave it and everything will be fine." She looked over to Stuart and Sarah and smiled at the couple. "Stuart and Sarah, you're going to get married, just like I said."

She sat back down next to Braxiatel and Rose came up to them. "When time gets sorted out-" Rose began.

"Everybody here forgets what happened and don't worry, the things that you changed will stay changed." At that moment, Peter came up to her, shaking his head.

"You mean I'll still be alive, though I'm meant to be dead. That's why I haven't done anything with my life, why I didn't mean anything."

"It doesn't work like that." Romana told him.

"Rubbish. I'm so useless I couldn't even die properly. Now it's my fault all of this has happened." He pointed towards the creatures.

Rose shook her head. "This is my fault."

Peter looked at his daughter. "No love. I'm your dad. It's my job for it to be my fault." At that moment, Jackie Tyler came up, carrying the young baby Rose and she looked at Peter, horrified.

"Her dad? How are you her dad? How old were you, twelve? Oh that's disgusting." Jackie held her Rose closer.

"Jacks, listen. This is Rose."

Jackie looked at Rose, sneering at her. "Rose? How sick is that? You give my daughter a second hand name? How many are there? Do you call them all Rose?"

"Oh for god's sake, look, it's the same Rose!" Peter took baby Rose from Jackie and hands her to Rose, Braxiatel eyes widening.

"Rose no!" He shouted and he snatched away the baby but it was too late and he hurriedly handed Jackie the baby just as the creature appeared.

"Everyone behind me and Braxiatel! Now!" Romana yelled, fury in her eyes. Everyone ran behind them just as the creature opened it's wing. Romana stepped forth with Braxiatel. "Everyone behind us. We're the oldest living beings in this room."

"Romana!" Rose yelled just as the creatures pounced on Romana and Braxiatel, Braxiatel embracing Romana with his robes just as the creature attacked them and making them both disappear before the creature made it's way over to the TARDIS. They touch and both the TARDIS and the creature vanished, the key fell to the floor and Rose ran to pick it up.

"It's cold. The key's cold. Oh my god, they're dead." She turned to face Peter and Jackie. "This is all my fault. Both of you. All of you. The whole world."

"This is it. There's nothing we can do. It's the end." Suzie said, shaking her head as they all made their way to sit down. The creatures still scraping at the church outside and Peter walked over to the window, watching the same beige car drive around the corner again and again from the vestry window. He went back to Rose who was sitting on her own.

"Romana and Braxiatel both really cared about you. Both of them don't want you to go through it again, not if there was another way. Now there isn't." Peter commented to Rose.

Rose faced her father slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"The car should've have killed me love. Romana and Braxiatel knew what they were talking about. They worked it out way back and er, both, well, Romana tried to protect me. But they're not in charge anymore. I am." Jackie made her way over to Peter, the baby Rose far out of reach. "Who am I love?" He placed his hand over Rose's cheeks as Rose began to cry.

"My daddy." She sobbed.

Peter looked at Jackie. "Jackie, look at her. She's ours." Jackie really studied her this time and her eyes widened. Now she noticed! The eyes, the nose and the hair. Even the way she spoke reminded her of herself a little and the way she stood, how could she have not of noticed?

"Oh, of course!" Jackie hugged her daughter tightly, making Peter smile slightly.

"I'm meant to be dead Jackie. You're going to get rid of me at last." Peter gave a light joke. Terrible but light.

Jackie looked up sadly. "Don't say that."

"For once in your life, trust me. It's got to be done. You've got to survive, because you've got to bring up our daughter." He turned to Rose. "I never read you those bedtime stories. I never took you on those picnics. I was never there for you."

Rose wiped her nose with her sleeve. Her eyes puffy from crying. "You would have been." She tried to protest but knew he was right.

"But I can do this for you. I can be a proper dad to you now."

"But it's not fair." Rose's lips trembled.

Peter shook his head. "I've had all these extra hours. No one else in the world has ever had that. And on top of that, I got to see you and you are beautiful. How lucky am I eh? So come on, do as your dad says. You going to be there for me love? Thanks for saving me." He kissed Rose on top of the forehead and gave Jackie a goodbye kiss before he grabbed the vase and he ran out of the church.

One of the creatures spots him and he runs to the corner, clutching the vase where the car appeared suddenly and the driver flings his arm across his face. Peter stood still, his eyes closed. "Goodbye love." He muttered before the car hit him. The vase dropped and smashed to the ground and the creatures vanished.

Rose stepped out of the church, her head hung low when two figures stood beside her and she looked to her left where she saw Romana. "Go to him, quick."

Without hesitating, Rose ran to her dying father. This time the driver stopped at the scene, looking worried and Peter died gazing into Rose's eyes. Romana sought Braxiatel hand and he held it, giving it a slight gentle squeeze. It was the most she could get out of him for showing comfort. He was a hard one but he meant well Romana realized. Rose kissed Peter on the head in farewell and stood up and looked at the two time lords. Both of them nodded and walked back to the TARDIS, Romana still holding Braxiatel's hand as Rose walked alongside Romana in silence, going into the TARDIS before it disappeared.


	15. The Empty Child Part 1

It had been a few days since they had the incident that involved Peter Tyler and Braxiatel was now dressed in dark blue Time-Lord robes, feeling the need to have a change and made his way back to the TARDIS console room where he noticed Romana and Rose staring over at the computer screen, grabbing tightly to the TARDIS as it was in heavy flight and he noticed Romana's smile. The excitement in her eyes as she smiled at whatever was on the TARDIS screen.

"What's the emergency?" He shouted over the noise as he made his way over and Romana stole a quick glance at him before gripping the TARDIS console tighter as it nearly threw her off.

"It's a mauve." Romana replied.

"Mauve?" Rose asked, confused.

"The universally recognised colour for danger." Braxiatel supplied as he casually sat in the TARDIS chair, unfazed by the TARDIS jerking. He had flown in worse TARDISes and spacecrafts.

"What happened to red?" Rose shook her head. Red was so much simpler.

"That's just humans. By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh the misunderstandings! All those red alerts, all that dancing. It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS." Romana gently patted the console. "Where it goes, we go."

"And that's safe is it?" Rose asked, looking at her cautiously.

"Totally." Rose looked at Braxiatel to see if she was lying.

Braxiatel shook his head, amused. "She's lying."

Suddenly there was a loud bang that came from the console and Romana got a hammer and hit the console with it and groaned. "Okay, should have said reasonably. No, no no! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us." She pressed some buttons furiously at the console and slammed the hammer down on it. The TARDIS hummed loudly as if displeased.

"What exactly is this thing?"

"No idea." Romana replied as she hit the console again with a hammer and sparks flew out of the console.

"Then why are we chasing it?"

"It's mauve and dangerous." Braxiatel replied. "And no doubt it'll land somewhere close to a city or something similar."

Romana looked at the screen and shook her head. "Yup. It's about thirty seconds from London. Why always London? What's so special about London?" She carefully landed the TARDIS in a back alley between two terraces before she looked at Rose. "Do you know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?"

Rose shrugged, amused. "Five days? Or is that just when we're out of milk?"

Braxiatel chuckled as they made their way out of the TARDIS. "Of all the species in all the universe and it has to be a cow."

Romana sniffed the air. "Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile anyway and it can't have been more than a few weeks ago, maybe a month." She shrugged and Braxiatel rolled his eyes.

"A month? We were right behind it." Rose gaped.

"You've just seen it now. It was jumping time tracks all over the place, we're bound to be a little bit out." Romana protested.

"How much is a little?"

"What she meant is more than a bit." Braxiatel sniggered.

"Hey you can drive your brother's TARDIS next time!" Romana pouted and Rose shook her head as they walked towards a door at the opposite end of the street.

"What's the plan then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?"

"Rose, be realistic. It hit in the middle of London with a loud bang, I'm sure someone will notice." Romana said and Braxiatel laughed, knowing what time period they were in and Romana ignored him as she showed Rose her psychic paper.

"Doctor Romana Smith, Ministry of Asteroids." She stored it away back in her pocket.

"It's psychic paper, it'll tell you." Braxiatel explained to Rose.

"Whatever you want it to tell me, I remember." Rose nodded and looked at him. "Have you got one?"

Braxiatel nodded. "Of course. Most Time Lords did back on Gallifrey, however I still need to build myself a sonic screwdriver."

"Oh of course. You're not using mine in the mean time though." Romana commented as she came upon the door that marked Deliveries Only.

Rose frowned at the psychic paper. "Not very Buffy is it? Just asking."

Romana raised her eyebrow. "Door, music, people. What do you think?"

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me some Buffy for once. Would it kill you both?" Rose shook her head and glanced between the time-lords.

"For once Romana, I'll have to agree with Rose." Braxiatel commented as he put his hands behind his back, looking slightly into the air before looking at her, smirking. Knowing the exact time-period they were in and Romana didn't. Oh it felt good to know something Romana didn't know.

"Oh fine, take Rose's side why don't you." She grumbled before she finally opened the door with her sonic screwdriver before looking at Rose's top. "Are you sure about that T-shirt?" It was a bright union jack.

Rose looked down at her shirt. "Too early to see. I'm taking it out for a spin."

Braxiatel shook his head, wondering why females could be so blind at times. Romana finally opened the door and she indicated her head towards it. "Come on, if you're both coming. It won't take a minute." Romana went inside and so did Braxiatel, Rose was about to follow when something caught her attention.

"Mummy?" Rose heard a little boy ask and she looked up and saw a little boy wearing a gas mask on top of a nearby roof.

"Romana? Braxiatel?" Rose shouted, running towards the voice. "There's a kid up there!"

* * *

Romana followed a waiter, Braxiatel at her heels. "Romana, you do know what time period we are in don't you?"

Romana stopped in her tracks, just hiding in the doorway where they heard a woman singing on stage. _"For nobody else gave me the thrill. When I have uphold silence still, it had to be you, wonderful you." _The woman sang and Romana looked around and took in her surroundings.

The technology. The posters. The way they were dressed and she groaned and face-palmed. "World War Two." How could've she been so blind?

"Exactly. Wouldn't be a good idea now if you went in there and asked if they saw something fall out of the sky would it?" He smirked just as the air raid sirens started and everyone rushed to leave.

"I suppose not. Come, let's go and get Rose." They headed back the way they came only to find the street empty. "Rose?" Romana asked but shook her head when Rose didn't come and a nearby cat meowed slightly on top of the bins near the TARDIS and she picked the cat up.

"Cute isn't it?"

Braxiatel folded his arms. "I'm not really a cat person." He glared at the cat.

"Shame on you." Romana cooed the cat. "I thought you would of loved cats. Six hundred years of phone box travel and it's the only thing left to surprise me."

"Thousand years for me." Braxiatel replied and just then, the TARDIS phone rang and Romana and Braxiatel turned to stare at it, eyes widening and Braxiatel moved slowly towards it, Romana still holding the cat. "How can you be ringing? What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"

Romana dropped the cat carefully to the ground and the cat ran of before Romana was about to hand him the sonic screwdriver when a young woman walked up the alley.

"Don't answer it. It's not for you." The woman demanded and both Time Lords turned to look at her.

"How do you know that?" Romana asked.

"'Cos I do. And I'm telling you, don't answer it." The woman repeated again, looking slightly scared at the telephone.

Braxiatel studied her. "Well if you know so much, tell us this. How can it be ringing?" He walked to the phone. "It's not even a real phone, it's not connected. It's-" He and Romana turned only to find the girl had gone and they both shrugged.

"Just pick it up." Romana said and Braxiatel picked the phone up.

"Hello? This is Braxiatel and Romana speaking. How may we help you?" Braxiatel asked.

The phone crackled a little bit before there was a voice on the other end. A voice of a young and scared child. "Mummy? Mummy?" The child asked and Braxiatel sent Romana a wary glance.

"Who is this speaking?" Romana asked the child.

"Are you my mummy?"

"Who is this?" Romana tried again but the child ignored her.

"How did you ring here? This isn't a real phone, it's not even wired up to anything." Braxiatel continued, examining the phone. This was definitely strange. The child didn't reply and instead it left it on the dialling tone and Braxiatel put the phone back down. "How can someone be ringing?" He asked Romana.

"No idea but it must be powerful." She supplied and she looked in the TARDIS for Rose and sighed when she realized her companion wasn't in there. "Come on, let's go and see what's all this about." She and Braxiatel ran out the alley and into the street and Braxiatel climbed up on top of some dustbins before he helped Romana up and both looked over a garden wall where they saw a rather plump looking woman shepherding a young boy during the air raid shelter.

"Come on, hurry up get in there!" The woman shouted at the boy who sulked. "Come on. Arthur! Arthur, will you hurry up? Didn't you hear the siren?" She shouted as she opened the door to her air-raid shelter and just then, her equally plump husband came out of the house, hands in pockets and looking angry.

"Middle of dinner, every night. Blooming Germans." Arthur grumbled and he looked up at the sky. "Don't you eat?"

Arthur's wife waved her hand at him hurriedly. "I can hear the planes!"

Arthur ignored her and shouted at the sky again. "Don't you eat?"

His wife rolled her eyes and dragged him inside the shelter. "Oh, keep your voice down will you? It's an air raid! Get in, look there's a war on."

"I know there's a war on. Don't push me." He grumbled and closed the door behind him, Romana giving a slight chuckle.

Just then, Braxiatel spotted the same girl who talked to them earlier enter the garden and crept into the house. He nudged Romana and they both climbed over the wall and followed her. They crept in with the kids, blending in and waited until all the kids from the streets had settled down and had a small talk and the time-lords watched the interaction with interest.

"Oh Nancy," One of the boys groaned at the young girl and Nancy shook her head before turning to a young boy, all still oblivious to the two Time Lords as she cut the meat.

"Haven't seen you at one of these before."

The boy looked at his friend. "He told me about it."

"Sleeping rough?" Nancy inquired.

"Yes miss."

"All right then. One slice each and I want to see everyone chewing properly." She passed around the plate of meet.

"Thank you miss." A boy named Jim passed it to his friend.

"Thank you miss." Another boy said and he handed the plate to Braxiatel without realizing and Romana quickly snugged a piece of meat of.

"Thank you miss." Braxiatel chirped and the children stopped and stared at them in panic, some of them gasped.

"It's all right. Everybody stay where you are!" Nancy soothed the children, watching the two time-lords cautiously.

"Good here isn't it? Haven't had a roast meal since my mother was alive." He turned to a young boy next to him. "She was human you see, liked to keep the human side to our family." He looked over the table, the kid stared at him as though he had gone mad. "Who's got the salt?"

"Back in your seats. They shouldn't be here either." Nancy glared at them and the kids slowly got back into their seats, still eyeing them.

Romana began to help herself to food. "So you kids, what's the story?"

A kid called Ernie looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

Romana shrugged. "Well you're all homeless for a starters yes? Living rough?"

Another kid sat across from them glared at them. "Why do you want to know that? Are you coppers?"

Braxiatel chuckled. "Of course we're not coppers. Do we look like coppers to you? I mean look at how I'm dressed for starers and she's no better." He pointed his thumb at Romana who stuck her tongue at him childishly and the younger kids giggled. "What's a copper going to do with you kids anyway? Arrest you for starving? All of you shouldn't even be in London, should've been evacuated to the country by now."

A kid called Alf nodded. "I was evacuated. Sent to a farm."

Romana looked at him. "So why did you come back? Isn't it not safer?"

Alf shrugged, not wanting to meet her eyes."There was a man there."

Jim nodded and pointed to his friend Ernie. "Yeah, same with Ernie. Two homes ago."

"Shut up. It's better on the streets anyway. It's better food." He glared at his friend and Romana turned to Nancy.

"So this is what you do Nancy?" Romana asked.

"What is?" Nancy replied and she stiffened slightly.

"As soon as the sirens go, you find a big family meal still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all so long the bombs don't get you." Romana sent a small smile to some of the young girls and they gave a weak smile back.

"Something wrong with that?" Nancy glared at them.

"Wrong with it? It's brilliant. I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End Musical." Braxiatel commented as he ate and the kids laughed, even Romana chuckled at that.

Nancy seemed unfazed by them. "Why'd you follow me? What do the pair of you want?"

"We want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to know so you seem to be the one to ask."

Nancy shrugged. "I did you a favour. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling you."

Braxiatel nodded. "Thank you. We also want to find a blonde in a union jack and we mean a specific one. I didn't wake up this morning with a craving-" Romana whacked him over the head and the kids laughed as he winced. Really, Romana slaps did hurt. "Anybody seen a girl like that?"

Romana took Braxiatel's plate away and gave it to Nancy and he looked Romana stunned. "What have I done wrong?" He pouted slightly.

"You took two slices." Romana scolded and the everybody laughed again, the kids giggling and smiling. It was as though they hadn't smiled in days in which during these times, could be true. Nancy took the plate of Romana. "And no more blondes for you. Really, your mother was an honourable woman. She must of taught you manners."

"_What not even in your next regeneration?" _Braxiatel asked her telepathically, deciding that he could get away with this question.

"_Hey! Mind clean soldier."_

"No blondes, no flags. Anything else before the pair of you leave?" Nancy told them coldly.

Romana nodded. "Actually there is. It's something we've been looking for." She took out her notepad and a pencil and began to draw a rough sketch of what appeared to be a large tube. "Would've fallen from the sky about a month ago but it's not a bomb. Well, not the usual kind anyway and it wouldn't have exploded and would have just buried itself somewhere in the ground and would have just looked something like this." She held up the sketch and everyone peered at it before there was a knock on the door that made everyone jump.

"Mummy? Are you in there, mummy?" The same boy that spoke through the telephone asked and Romana got up and peered through the window to see a little boy in a gas mask.

"Mummy?

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy questioned the children.

"Him." Ernie replied, pointing at Braxiatel.

"No, they both came round the back. Who came in the front?" Nancy asked again, panic in her eyes.

Alf raised his hand slowly. "Me."

Nancy turned to face him. "Did you close the door?"

"Er-"

"Did you close the door?" Alf shook his head and Nancy dashed into the hallway and bolted the front door.

Romana and Braxiatel shared an uneasy look with each other. "What's all this about then? It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold you know."

Nancy grabbed her coat. "I suppose you both know."

"We do actually yes." Braxiatel replied, Nancy looked at the window before looking back at the two time lords.

"It's not exactly a child."

"Mummy?"

"Right, everybody out. Across the back garden and under the fence. Now! Go! Move!" Nancy shouted and she pointed her hand towards the back garden and the children grabbed their coats and fled. Nancy spoke to the sole remaining little girl who couldn't be more than four. "Come on baby, we've got to go all right? It's just like a game. Just like chasing. Take your coat and go, go on!" She urged and the child left, Braxiatel and Romana made their way to the front door.

"Mummy? Mummy? Please let me in mummy. Please let me in." The child pleaded and a little hand came through the letter box with a scar across it.

Romana frowned. "Are you all right?" She asked softly. An injured child was not a good sign. No matter what the species. Children were sacred.

"Please let me in." Suddenly, Nancy threw something hard at the hand and the object shattered to the ground and the hand withdrew quickly.

"You mustn't let him touch you!" Nancy shouted, eyes in despair.

Braxiatel turned to her whilst Romana studied the outline of the child, frowning as she did so. "What happens if he touches us?"

Nancy nodded towards the child. "He'll make you like him."

"What's he like?" Romana asked, creeping closer to the door but being careful.

"He's empty."

Suddenly, the telephone rang and both Romana and Braxiatel looked at it. "It's him. He can make phones ring. Just like with the Police box you saw." Nancy swallowed.

"Are you my mummy?" The child asked and Nancy rushed back and put the phone back on the hook. The radio in the living up started up and the three of them went in. "Mummy? Please let me in mummy."

A clockwork monkey started to clap and move, Romana glancing at it as the monkey chanted the same words over and over again. "Mummy, mummy, mummy?"

Nancy shook her head and went back in the hallway with the time-lords. "You can stay if you want to." She tugged at her coat before she hurriedly left by the back door. The boy put his hand through the letter box again, the same hand with the scar upon the back of it.

"Mummy? Let me in please, mummy. Please let me in." The child pleaded.

Romana turned to face the child, Braxiatel behind her. "Your mummy isn't here little one." She said to the child softly.

"Are you my mummy?"

Romana crouched down in front of the door but just out of reach of the child's hand. "No mummies here. Nobody here but us chickens." She sent Braxiatel a cheeky smile and he shook his head.

"We're not chickens." He grumbled.

Romana shushed him.

"I'm scared." The child told her.

"Why are those other children frightened of you?" Romana asked and the child took his hand back.

"Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs." Romana closed her eyes, remembering the time-tots back on Gallifrey and how scared they were when the Daleks bombed their streets and homes. The Time-Tots being ripped away from their mother's arms as the Daleks exterminated them. She blinked and shook her head, trying to get rid of the memories.

"Okay little one, I'm opening the door now." She said to the child softly and she stood up and unlocked the door but when she opened it, both Romana and Braxiatel saw that the boy had gone and the street was deserted. Romana turned to Braxiatel. "Is it me or is this just keeps getting weirder and weirder?"

Braxiatel grinned. "Weird is good. C'mon, let's go and find out what all this is about." They left the house and went into the dark open night.


	16. The Empty Child Part 2

Romana got out her sonic screwdriver to track down Nancy. They manage to find her in a shack on some old railway sidings and they saw her hide the food that she took from the Lloyd's kitchen before she stood up and turned around to see the two time-lords smiling at her.

Nancy eyed them both. "How'd you follow me here?"

Romana showed her the sonic screwdriver. "This. Plus Braxiatel got his nose." Braxiatel scowled and consciously rubbed his nose.

Nancy shook her head. "People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to."

"Yeah well, my magic wand and Braxiatel nose have special powers."

Nancy looked at Braxiatel. "Yeah? That's why it's..."

Braxiatel frowned. "What?"

Nancy grinned to herself. "Nothing." She looked at Romana, both of them grinning at Braxiatel and he shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" He asked again to Romana.

"Nothing. Do your ears have special powers too?" Romana burst out laughing at Nancy's question and Braxiatel touched his ears, wondering what was wrong with them.

"What you trying to say the pair of you?" He shook his head. Women. He didn't understand their sense of humour.

"Good night, Sir, Ma'am." She was about to turn in but Romana stopped her.

"Nancy, there's something chasing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy but it isn't a boy and let me guess, this all started about a month ago. The thing that we're looking for fell from the sky and it landed. You know what I'm talking about don't you?" Romana asked her gently as Braxiatel was still too busy wondering what was wrong with his nose and ears.

Nancy nodded. "There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb and it fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."

"Take us there."

Nancy shook her head. "There's soldiers guarding it. Barbed wire. You'll never get through."

Romana smirked. "Oh, you'll be surprised."

"You sure you want to know what's going on in there?"

"We really want to know."

Nancy sighed. "Then there's someone you need to talk to first."

"Oh? Who might that be?"

Nancy looked up. "The Doctor."

Braxiatel quickly looked up, startled at the mention of the word the Doctor and shared a look with Romana. The Doctor. His brother. Could it be that he was here? He and Romana shared hopeful glances. "Could it be?" Braxiatel whispered as they walked towards Limehouse Green.

"The Doctor? I hope so. It would be his sort of thing to come here. But if he was, why can't we feel him? Unless he's got his mind trapped in a fob watch." Romana asked. Surely if the Doctor was here, they'll be able to feel him. She didn't want to get her or Braxiatel's hopes up just in case it wasn't.

"My brother...we may be able to finally see him." Braxiatel hoped it was, he desperately wanted to see his brother. To apologize for all the foolish things he has done and to forgive him for destroying Gallifrey despite the fact he still hasn't forgiven Romana completely yet.

They arrived and Romana got out a pair of super-binoculars from her coat pocket to scan the area.

"The bomb's under that tarpaulin. They put the fence up over night." Nancy commented before pointing to a building near the site. "See that building? The hospital?"

Braxiatel nodded. "What about it?"

"That's where the Doctor is. You should talk to him."

"Right now we're more interested in getting to the bomb." Romana said, stopping Braxiatel from leaving. She was just as eager to see the Doctor herself, but she knew she had to prepare herself if it wasn't _their _doctor.

Nancy shook her head. "Talk to the Doctor first."

"Why?"

"Because then maybe you won't want to get inside." Nancy began to turn away but Romana stopped her.

"Where you going?"

Nancy turned to face her, Braxiatel was gazing longingly at the hospital. "There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed. Should be safe enough now."

"Can I ask you a question? Who did you lose?" Romana asked her gently.

Nancy blinked. "What?"

"The way you look after all those kids. It's because you lost somebody isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it."

Nancy bit her lip. "My little brother. Jamie. One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, told him it was dangerous but he just." She wiped away the tears. "He just didn't like being on his own."

Romana nodded understandingly. "Amazing." She sniffed the air and Nancy frowned, confused.

"What is?"

Romana folded her arms. "1941. Right now, not very far from here the German war machines are rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes and nothing can stop it. Nothing until one tiny damp little island says no. Not here. A mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing the lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler but sometimes you frighten the hell out of me." She nodded at Nancy. "Of you go and do what you gotta do. Save the world." Romana tugged at Braxiatel's arms and made their way to Albion hospital. Braxiatel almost running to the doors and Romana used her sonic screwdriver to open the padlock on the ornate metal gates to the hospital grounds before they made their way inside.

Inside the hospital were long, dark wards and every bed had a very still patient, none of them seem to be breathing and she frowned as she noticed all of them wearing gas masks before they found themselves in a ward in front of an elderly and Braxiatel once hopeful face turned into one of bitter disappointment and Romana rubbed his back soothingly as he clenched his hands.

The doctor was elderly and grumpy and was leaning on a walking stick, reminding Romana of the very first incarnation of the first Doctor. "You'll find them everywhere. In every bed, every ward. Hundreds of them." The doctor commented and Braxiatel turned away from him, not wanting the man to see the look of disappointment as he realized it wasn't his brother.

Romana hid her disappointment well and swallowed before nodding. "Yes, we saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?"

The doctor shook his head. "They're not. Who are you?"

"I'm Romana and this is Braxiatel. Are you the Doctor?"

"Doctor Constantine." He corrected.

"Nancy sent us."

"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb." Constantine asked, realizing.

"Yes."

"What do you know about it?"

Romana shrugged. "Nothing. It's why we were asking, or rather I was. What do you know of it?"

Constantine looked at the patients in the hospital bed, Romana following his gaze. "Only what it's done."

"These people, they were all caught up in the blast?" Romana frowned.

"None of them were." Constantine chuckled but then coughed badly and he sat in a chair by the desk where the ward sister would have normally been.

"You're very sick." She noted.

Constantine nodded. "Dying I should think. I just haven't been able to find the time. Are you a doctor?"

Romana pointed at Braxiatel who now closed his eyes as he stood. "His brother used to be but I have my moments."

"Have you examined any of them yet?"

"No." Romana walked over to one of the patients.

"Don't touch the flesh."

"Which one?"

"Anyone."

Braxiatel watched Romana point her sonic screwdriver at the patient. "Conclusions?" Braxiatel asked, wanting to take his mind of his long, lost and dead brother.

Romana scanned the whole body. "Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh but I can't see any signs of burns."

"Examine another one." Braxiatel walked over to another patient and Romana chucked the sonic screwdriver at him.

"Impossible." He breathed once he had scanned the patient. This patient had the same signs as the one that Romana had scanned.

"Examine another."

Braxiatel walked over to another one, shaking his head. "They've all got the same injuries." He told them.

"Yes."

Romana walked back to face Constantine. "Exactly the same."

"Yes."

"All identical. Right down to the scar on the back of the hand." She shook her head and neither time-lords notice as Constantine glanced at his hand where the same scar was and he carefully hid it from view.

"How did this happen? How did it start?" Braxiatel asked, walking back to Romana.

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim."

"Dead?"

"At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched hum had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward had the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire injuries acted as a plague. Can you explain that? What would you say there was a cause of death?" Constantine asked.

For a moment there was silence as Romana and Braxiatel wrapped their minds over what Constantine had just said when finally Romana spoke. "They're not dead." How could they be if they were not near the bomb?

Constantine nodded. "That is correct." He hit a waste basket with his stick and the noise made the patients sit up in their beds, the two time-lords moving closer to each other, Romana's sonic raised slightly. "It's all right. They're harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just don't die."

Romana glanced at them cautiously. "And they've just been left here? Nobody doing anything?" She asked as the patients lie down again.

Constantine glanced at them. "I try and make them comfortable. What else is there?" He shrugged.

Braxiatel took a proper look at the man for the first time. "You're the only one here?" Braxiatel asked.

Constantine sighed. "Before the war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I'm still a doctor."

Both time-lords nodded. "Yeah, we both know the feeling." They said in union and both closed their eyes briefly before opening them again. Pain in their eyes.

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb."

"Probably too late." Romana shrugged.

"No. There are isolated cases. Isolated cases breaking out all over London." Suddenly he coughed harshly and the time-lords made their way over to see if he was okay before he raised his spare hand to stop them. "Stay back, stay back. Listen to me. Top floor. Room eight oh two. That's where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site and you must find Nancy again." He struggled to get out, his skin growing paler.

Romana frowned. "Nancy?"

Constantine nodded weakly. "It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying." He grabbed his neck, almost painfully. "She won't tell me, but she might-Mummy." Romana moved back and bumped into Braxiatel. "Are...you...my...mummy?" Constantine asked and starting with the mouth, Doctor's constantine face turned into a gas mask, much like all the over patients and the time-lords stared at him as he stayed there, unmoving.

Braxiatel didn't know how to feel and was about to say something to Romana when they heard Rose calling somewhere down the corridor. "Hello?" She shouted and they both dashed towards her, finding her in the hospital corridor only to find that she was not alone but was with a rather handsome looking man.

"Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness." He held out his hand and Braxiatel shook it. "I've been hearing all about the pair of you on the way over."

Braxiatel shared a quick glance at Romana before sending her a telepathic message. _"Time agent." _Romana nodded.

Rose looked at them, hands in pockets. "He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."

Braxiatel raised an eyebrow at Rose before Jack sent them both a grin. "And it's a real pleasure to meet you both, Mr and Mrs Smith." He walked forward into the ward and both time-lords blinked.

"Mr and Mrs Smith?" Romana asked her. "We are so not married." She looked at Braxiatel and back at Rose as they walked.

Rose shrugged. "What was I supposed to say? Don't you ever get tired of Romana or Irving Braxiatel?"

"Hey, thousand years old and I'm still coping." Braxiatel told her. "Don't change our names again. Our names are highly important. We chose them and they stay like that. Besides, where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz. Not a good time for a stroll."

"Who's strolling? I went by a barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid." Rose replied and Romana looked flabbergasted.

"You're mum going to kill me." Romana shook her head. Rose sent her a small smile.

"Listen, what's a chula warship?" Rose asked as they walked to catch up with Jack.

Romana blinked. "Did I hear that right? Chula?"

They found Jack back in the ward using his wrist device to examine the patients. "This just isn't possible. How did this happen?" He turned to the time-lords.

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" Romana asked him bluntly. She should of recognised the ship back in the TARDIS. How could she have missed something so important as this?

Jack stopped what he was doing. "What?"

"He said it was a warship. He stole it, parked it somewhere out there and somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer." Rose supplied.

Braxiatel sighed. An time-agent and a conman. Just what he needed. "What kind of warship?" He asked.

Jack shook his head. "Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this."

Romana looked at him, irritated. "This started at the bomb site." She began. "It's got everything to do with it. Now, we'll ask you again, what kind of warship?"

"An ambulance. Look!" Jack urged and he pressed some buttons on his vortex manipulator and a hologram of the the Chula ship appeared. "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you, saw your time travel vehicle," He sent Braxiatel a smile and Braxiatel rolled his eyes, not interested. "Love the retro look by the way. Nice panels. So I threw you the bait."

"Bait?" Rose frowned.

Jack nodded. "I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found it was junk."

Rose frowned. "You said it was a warship."

"They have ambulances in wars. It was a con. I was conning you. That's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents but you're not are you?" He glanced at the way Braxiatel was dressed before looking at Romana.

"Just couple more freelancers." Rose supplied and Jack shook his head.

"Oh. Should have known. The way you guys are blending in with the local colour. I mean Flag Girl was bad enough but U-Boat Captain and an arab? Anyway, whatever is happening here has got nothing to do with that ship." Jack protested.

Rose looked at Romana. "What is happening here Romana?"

Romana looked around the ward again before looking back at Jack. "Human DNA being rewritten by an idiot." She sneered slightly. She never liked the Time Agents. They always thought they were better because they had 'Time Travel' than some of the other species. She snorted, it was not the proper way to time-travel at all! Absolutely rubbish.

Rose looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's some kind of virus." Braxiatel explained. "Converting human beings into these things. But why? What's the point?" He shook his head as he gazed at the patients. Suddenly, the patients sat up and the four of them looked startled at the sudden movement.

"Mummy. Mummy? Mummy?" The patients all asked and the four moved backwards into the wall.

"What's happening?" Rose asked, slightly scared.

"No idea." Romana replied and the patients and Doctor Constantine all stood up.

"Mummy." The patients all repeated.

"Don't let them touch you." Braxiatel warned.

"What happens if they touch us?"

"You're looking at it." Romana said as she stood in front of the them, as though shielding the others. The patients slowly closed in on the four of them, still saying the same thing over and over again.

"Help me mummy. Mummy? Mummy. Mummy?"


	17. The Doctor Dances Part 1

The patients were almost within touching distance as the four of them backed closer to the wall.

"Go to your room." Romana demanded and the patents in the ward suddenly stood still. "Go to your room." Romana said, pretending to be very cross. "I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am _very_ cross." She raised her right hand and pointed randomly in the air. "Go to your room!" She shouted.

The patients hung their heads in shame and shuffle away and made their way back to their beds. Romana dropped her hands down and sighed with relief before smiling at Braxiatel and the others. "I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words." She shook her head. If she was going to die, she didn't want to die saying those words. The Doctor would have been rolling laughing in his grave if she did.

"You would make a fantastic mother Romana." Braxiatel said as they moved to get some space.

"Keep it in your pants Braxiatel." Romana sent him a cheeky smile Rose giggled slightly.

Rose peered at the patients. "Why are they all wearing gas masks?"

Jack shook his head. "They're not. Those masks are flesh and bone."

Braxiatel turned to face Jack. "How was your con supposed to work?"

"Simple enough really. Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable and name a price. When he's put up fifty percent up front, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for, never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."

Romana rolled her eyes. "Yeah, perfect." She muttered. Time Agents, they really annoyed her.

"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners. Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it, though you've got to set your alarm for volcano day." He shifted uncomfortably underneath the two time-lord's gazes. "Getting a hint of disapproval here."

Romana glared at him. "Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space-junk did."

Jack looked at her in disbelief. "It was burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty!" He protested.

"Are we getting out of here?" Rose asked.

Braxiatel shook his head. "We're going upstairs." They began to head up when Jack stopped in his tracks to speak to Romana.

"I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no-one. I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it."

Romana shook her head. "I'll tell you what's happening. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day." She was about to walk ahead when they all heard a loud alarm blaring over.

"What's that?" Rose asked, looking around to find the source of the alarm.

"That's the all clear." Jack replied.

Braxiatel rolled his eyes. "I wish." He and Romana dashed up some stairs, leaving the humans behind.

* * *

"Mr and Mrs Smith?" Jack shouted as they ran past a staircase, the two time lords on the next flight of stairs and Braxiatel head peered over the bannister.

"Mr and Mrs Smith?" Braxiatel called, raising an eyebrow just as Jack and Rose halted and ran back to the staircase. "Really? You do realize we're not married?"

Rose rolled her eyes Jack. "I wouldn't be surprised if they got married soon with the way they're both at it."

"Oi I heard that!" Braxiatel shouted.

Romana popped her head beside Braxiatel. "Have you got a blaster?" She called over to Jack.

Jack nodded, eager to help. "Sure!" He and Rose ran up the stairs onlt to see that they were standing outside a secure metal door.

"The night your space-junk landed, someone was hurt. This was where they were taken." Romana explained.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

Romana shrugged. "Let's find out. Let's get it open."

Rose peered at her. "What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?"

"Nothing."

Jack's blaster disintegrates the lock. Braxiatel looked almost impressed. "Sonic blaster, fifty first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?" He asked.

Jack nodded as he stored his blaster away. "You've been to the factories?"

"Once. Used to own a few of them back in the old days." Braxiatel admitted as Rose and Romana headed through the door.

Jack shrugged. "Well, they gone now. Destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot."

"Like I said, once. There's a banana grove there, now. Bananas are good." They walked through the door to join Romana and Rose, Rose standing next to Jack.

"Nice blast pattern." Rose smirked at Jack.

"Digital."

"Squareness gun."

"Yeah?" Jack sent her a cheeky grin.

"I like it." Rose grinned before turning to look at the room.

The room was filled with cabinets and electronic equipment and was overall a big mess. The observation window that was laid across the room was smashed to pieces and they were careful not to stand in the glass.

"What do you think?" Romana asked them all, not bothered who answered her.

There was a pause before Jack replied. "Something got out of here."

Romana nodded. "And?"

"Something powerful and angry."

"Powerful and angry." Romana repeated and she looked at the down where she noticed a child's crayon drawings scattered on the floor with a steiff teddy bear.

Jack sighed. "A child? I suppose this explains Mummy."

"How could a child do this?" Rose asked as Romana turned on the tape machine. Ignoring her companion's question.

"Do you know where you are?" They heard Doctor Constantine ask on the tape, all listening patiently.

"Are you my mummy?" The child asked.

"Are you aware of what's around you? Can you see?" Constantine tried again.

"Are you my mummy?" The child ignored him.

"What do you want? Do you know?"

"I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"

Rose looked at Romana. "Romana, Braxiatel, I've heard this voice before."

Braxiatel nodded. "We all have."

"Mummy?"

"Why doesn't he know?" Rose asked, the tape still playing.

"Are you there, mummy? Mummy?"

Romana and Braxiatel suddenly stiffened, as though they felt a chill in their bones. "Romana? Braxiatel?" Rose asked, concerned.

"Can you sense it?" Braxiatel asked, looking at Romana.

Jack frowned. "Sense what?"

"Coming out of the walls. Can you feel it?" Romana asked. It was like someone had walked over their graves, all through their regenerations and it sent a chill to her bone.

"Mummy?" The child asked again.

Romana shook her head. "Funny little human brains. How do you get around in those things?"

Rose looked over at Jack. "When they're stressed, they both like to insult species."

Romana shushed her. "Rose, I'm trying to think."

Rose pointed at Braxiatel. "He cuts himself shaving and he does half an hour on life forms he's cleverer than." She pointed at Romana. "She messes up on something on the ship and she starts rambling about being President for an hour."

Romana shook her head, her back in front of the observation mirror. "Suppose they were there when this thing landed?"

"It was a med-ship. It was harmless." Jack stressed.

"Yes, you keep saying harmless. Suppose one of them was affected, altered?" Braxiatel suggested.

"Altered how?" Rose looked between them.

The tape ran out but neither of them noticed. "I'm here!" The child shouted.

"It's afraid. Terribly afraid and it doesn't know it yet but it will do. It's got the power of a god and I just sent it to it's room." Romana whispered.

"Romana?" Braxiatel eyed her. If she's done something stupid, he was sure he was going to have a word with her later back in the TARDIS.

"I'm here! Can't you see me?" The child questioned.

"What's that noise?" Rose pushed a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

"End of the tape. It ran out about thirty seconds ago." Romana replied.

"I'm here now. Can't you see me?"

Romana gave a slight nervous grin. "I sent it to it's room. This is it's room." Romana spun around and behind the observation mirror was the child.

"Are you my mummy? Mummy?"

"Romana?!" Rose yelled.

"Okay, on my signal make for the door." Jack warned and he grabbed a banana accidently from his belt and aimed it at the door. Jack looked confused when Braxiatel pulled Jack's blaster from his belt and makes a nice square hole in the wall.

Romana rolled her eyes. "Boys and their toys!" She chided.

"Go on! Don't drop the banana!" Braxiatel called to Jack as they dashed through the wall.

"Why?!"

"Good source of potassium!" Braxiatel replied as they climbed through.

"Give me that!" Jack yelled angrily and he took his blaster of from Braxiatel.

"Mummy? I want my mummy!" The child turned to march it's way over to them but Jack used his blaster to repair the hole in the wall before turning to Braxiatel. "Digital rewind. Nice switch."

Braxiatel shrugged. "It's from the groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate."

"Is there's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?" Jack looked sceptical.

"Bananas are good!" Braxiatel protested.

"Boys!" Romana shouted and they both turned to look at her as Romana put her hands on hips. "Now really not the time to discuss Bananas and toy guns!" She chided just as the wall where the child was hiding behind started to crack.

"Romana!" Rose shouted.

"Come on!" Romana made to turn down the hallway but the patients started to come at them from both directions.

"Mummy? Mummy? Mummy?" The patients all repeated, moving inwards slowly.

"It'll keep us here until it can get at us!" Braxiatel shouted over the noise.

"It's controlling them?" Jack asked, looking nervously at the patients.

"It _is _them." Romana corrected. "It's every living thing in this hospital."

Jack nodded and looked at his belt. "Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon and a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter. Romana, what have you got?"

She and Jack stood back to back whilst Braxiatel and Rose stood near them. "I've got a sonic, oh never mind." Romana muttered. She could see why Braxiatel was so interested in Jack's weapon, her sonic screwdriver was useless against these zombie like patients.

"What?" Jack replied, pointing his blaster at the patients but not actually firing at them.

"It's a sonic okay? Let's leave it at that!"

"Disrupter? Cannon? What?" Jack raised his gun at the advancing patients.

"It's sonic! I am soniced up!" Romana replied, gritting through her teeth.

"A sonic what?!"

"Screwdriver!" She yelled and Jack turned to look at her weapon.

Rose rolled her eyes before she grabbed Jack's blaster and pointed it at the floor. "Going down!" She yelled and she fired and the four of them fell down before Jack quickly repaired the hole in the ceiling. "Romana, Braxiatel? You okay?"

"Could've used a warning." Braxiatel grumbled as he picked himself up from the floor and dusted down his time-lord robes.

"Oh the gratitude." Rose grumbled. The room they were in was dark and they could just barely make out each other.

Jack turned to face Romana and Braxiatel. "Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I do!" Romana protested, feeling the need to defend her piece of technology.

"Lights." Rose muttered and she moved around to try and find a light switch.

Jack shook his head. "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, oooh, this could be a little more sonic?"

"What, you've never been bored?" Romana retorted.

"There's got to be a light switch!" Rose muttered more loudly.

"Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?" Braxiatel asked Jack and Rose found a light switch and she switched it on but moved away quickly as the patients sat up in their bed as they realized they were in another ward.

"Door!" Jack yelled and he pointed his blaster and clicked fire but it doesn't work. He smacked it with his hands. "Damn it!"

"Mummy!"

"It's the special features. They really drain the battery." Jack admitted.

"The battery?" Rose asked as she moved closer to the three of them.

Romana used her sonic screwdriver at the door and it unlocked and they went into the storeroom and Romana locked it again just after Braxiatel climbed in.

"That's so lame!" Rose shook her head.

"I was going to send for another one but somebody's got to blow up the factory." He glared at Braxiatel.

"Oh I know. First day I met Romana she blew up my job. It's practically how their species communicate." Rose grinned.

Romana rolled her eyes. "The door should hold it for a bit."

Jack looked almost outraged at her. "The door? The wall didn't stop it!"

"It's got to find us first! Anyway, we're not done yet! Assets, assets!" Braxiatel commented to Jack and Romana and Rose shook their heads.

"Boys and their toys." Romana repeated, huffing slightly and Rose giggled.

"Well I've got a banana and in pinch you could put up some shelves." He sent a quick glance at Romana who walked over to a window.

"Ah window!" She cheered.

Jack sat down in a nearby chair. "Barred. Sheer drop outside. Seven stories." He shrugged.

Rose sighed. "No other exits."

Romana looked at Rose, sonic screwdriver out. "So where'd you pick this one up then?"

"Romana!" She protested as though she was a child being told of by her mum.

Jack merely grinned. "She was hanging from a barrage balloon. I had an invisible spaceship, I never stood a chance."

Braxiatel looked amused. "Okay, enough of this now. We need a plan." He paced in the middle of the room. "One, we've got to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Have I missed anything?" He looked at Romana and scratched his head and Romana laughed.

"Yeah, Jack disappeared." Rose replied and both time-lords turned to the chair where Jack was sitting in a few moments ago, only to find it empty.


	18. The Doctor Dances Part 2

Rose sighed and sat down in the same chair that Jack had vanished in. "Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great looking ones who do that?"

"I'm making an effort not to be insulted." Braxiatel grumbled and folded his arms.

Romana pinched his cheeks almost childishly and he slapped her hands away. "You're feeling very conscious about yourself lately. You're not normally like this."

"Hey, I've always cared about my looks. It's how I go about." Romana rolled her eyes and went back to the window before a radio that was sitting on some boxes near Braxiatel crackled into life.

"Romana? Braxiatel? Rose? Can you hear me? I'm back on my ship." Jack called. "Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it. Hang in there."

"How are you speaking to us?" Braxiatel asked curious.

"Om-Com. I can call anything with a speaker grill."

"Now there's a coincidence." Romana sighed and she stopped sonicing the window.

"What is?" Jack asked.

"The child can Om-Com too. Anything with a speaker with a speaker grill. Even the TARDIS phone." Romana replied.

Rose looked at her with wide eyes. "What, you mean the child can phone us?"

"And I can hear you! Coming to find you! Coming to find you!" The child called through the radio, almost playfully. Everyone looked at the radio, Rose moving the chair further away from it.

"You guys, can you hear that?" Jack asked.

"Loud and clear." Braxiatel replied, eyeing the radio.

"I'll try to block out the signal, least I can do." Jack said and he blocked out the child's voice. "Remember this one Rose?" Jack asked as Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller came on the radio.

Rose shook her head as Romana raised an eyebrow at her. Romana clearly could see that Jack would shag anything that walked in his path. "Our song." Rose muttered and she relaxed into the wheelchair. "You don't trust him the pair of you do you?" Rose asked the time-lords.

"Wouldn't bet my life." Romana replied, standing next to Braxiatel and she looked at Braxiatel. "Or lives."

"Why don't you trust him?"

"Why do you?" Braxiatel asked her.

"He saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing. I trust him because he's like the pair of you except with the dating and dancing." Romana and Braxiatel scoffed. "What?"

"You just assume we-" Romana started and she shook her head.

"What?"

"You just assume that we don't dance." She continued. "Or date."

Rose cocked her head to the side. "What, are you telling me that the pair of you can dance?"

"Rose, I'm a lady of time and I was President and I _am_ about six hundred years old. We've both been around for a bit. Of course we can dance." Romana shook her head.

"You?" Rose asked, turning to Braxiatel.

"My mother was human. When I was a young child, she used to get me and my brother away from our research and teach us how to dance. Problem?"

Rose gave a slight smile. "Doesn't the universe implode or something if the pair of you dance?"

"We got the moves but we wouldn't want to boast." Romana replied and Rose turned up the volume of the radio, the Moonlight Serenade still playing and she held out her hand to Braxiatel. "You've got the moves? Show me your moves. Jack'll be back. He'll get us out. The world doesn't end because Romana and Braxiatel don't dance." Braxiatel looked down at her palm and studied it.

"Barrage balloon?" He asked her, looking at her palm.

Rose blinked at the sudden question. "What?"

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon." He repeated and Romana glanced over at them.

Rose nodded. "Oh yeah. About two minutes after the pair of you left me. Thousands of feet above London in the middle of a German air-raid. Union Jack all over my chest."

"My brother travelled with a lot of people but you're setting new records for jeopardy friendly." He commented and Romana chuckled.

"Is this the pair of you dancing? Because I've got notes." Rose replied, ignoring Romana's chuckles.

Romana shook her head. "Hanging from a rope thousands feet about London. Not a cut and not a bruise."

Rose looked at her. "Yeah, Captain Jack fixed me up."

Romana snorted. "Oh, we're calling him Captain Jack now are we?"

"Well his name's Jack and he's a Captain."

"He's not really a Captain Rose." Braxiatel told her.

"Do you know what I think?" She looked back and forth between them. "I think the pair of you are experiencing envy. You'll find your feet at the end of your legs and you may care to to move them."

"If he ever was a Captain, he's been defrocked." Romana told her.

"Yeah? Shame I missed that."

"Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock. Most people notice when they've been teleported but you three were so sweet. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security." He turned to Braxiatel and Romana. "What species are you anyway? Human mother?"

Romana shook her head, ignoring Jack's question. "You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols? Maybe you should remember whose ship it is." She warned him.

Jack merely shrugged. "Oh I do and she was gorgeous. Like I told her, back in five minutes."

Romana and Braxiatel snapped their fingers and a golden glow envelope both of their hands.

Rose pointed at it. "They're what fixed my hands up. Jack called them, er-"

"Nanogenes?" Romana supplied helpfully.

Rose nodded. "Nanogenes yeah."

"Sub-atomic robots. There's millions of them in here see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed and Braxiatel bruised his during the fall to the escape the zombies. All better now. They activate when the bulks head sealed." Romana shooed them away and they disappeared. "Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws. Take us to the crash site. We need to see your space junk."

"As soon as I get the nav-com back online. Make yourself comfortable. Carry on whatever it was you were doing." He sent them a wicked grin.

"We were talking about dancing." Romana told him.

"It didn't look like talking." He reprehended her.

"It didn't feel like dancing." Braxiatel smirked at her and Romana sent him a slight glare and he shrugged it off.

"So you used to be a Time Agent, now you're trying to con them?" Rose asked Jack as the two time-lords made themselves comfortable.

"If it makes me sound any better, it's not for money."

"For what?"

"Woke up one day when I was still working for them. Found they'd stolen two years of my memories. I'd like them back." Jack replied, pressing some buttons.

"They stole your memories?" Rose gasped.

Jack nodded. Two years of his life and he'll never get them back and he sighed. "Two years of my life. No idea what I did. Your friends over there don't trust me and for all I know they have a right not to." He flicked a switch. "Okay, we're good to go. Crash site?" He drove them to the bomb site which was called Limehouse Green. Jack parked his spaceship and they all got of safely.

Jack pointed over to the direction of his junk. "There it is. Hey, they've got Algy on duty. It must be important." He noted as he pointed to a couple of soldiers and nodded towards a soldier with ginger hair.

"We've got to get past him." Romana replied as they hid behind a barrel and she observed the scene before her.

"Are the words distract the guard heading in my general direction?" Rose inquired.

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea." Jack commented.

Rose smiled. "Don't worry, I can handle it."

Romana chuckled. "What he means Rose is that Algy boy is not interested in your type."

Rose looked slightly crest-fallen as she realized what Romana meant and Jack merely grinned. "I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town. Romana is right, you're not his type. I'll distract him. Don't wait up." He dashed off towards his friend.

Braxiatel shook his head, amused. "The fifty first century people. They're always more flexible when it comes to dancing." He mused.

Rose looked at him. "How flexible?"

"Well by his time you lot have spread out across half the galaxy." He nodded at Jack.

"Meaning?"

Romana smirked at Braxiatel. "So many species, so little time."

"What, that's what we do when we get out there? That's our mission? We seek new life and-and-" Rose couldn't bring herself to say the word and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Dance." Romana and Braxiatel looked at each other before watching Jack conversing with Algy.

"Hey tiger. How's it hanging?" Jack called over to his friend and Algy turned around, his cheeks red from the wind.

"Mummy?"Algy asked.

Jack stopped in his tracks, his coat swishing back and forth. "Algy, old sport, it's me."

"Mummy?" Algy asked again, looking slightly sick.

"It's me, Jack." Jack asked hesitantly.

"Jack? Are you my mummy?" Algy started to retch and he fell to his knees before his face slowly turned into a gas mask. Romana, Braxiatel and Rose ran forward from the sideline.

"Get back!" Romana shouted at Jack.

Jack turned to the rest of the men on duty. "You men, stay away!"

"The effect's become air-born, accelerating." Braxiatel commented when suddenly the air raid sirens started up.

"What's keeping us safe?" Rose asked to no one in particular.

"Nothing." Braxiatel replied.

"Ah, here they come again." Jack sighed.

"All we need. Didn't you say a bomb was going to land here?" Rose asked Jack.

Before Jack could reply, Romana stopped him. "Never mind about that. If the contaminants airbornes now, there's three hours left."

"Till what?" Jack peered over her shoulder.

Romana shrugged. "Until nothing, forever. For the entire human race." Romana turned slightly in the direction of the bomb site headquarters."And is it me or can you hear singing?"

They all turned in her direction and they quietly heard Nancy singing. "_Rock-a-bye-baby, on the tree tops." _They heard Nancy sing as Romana moved closer to the building, instructing the others to stay there. _"When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall. Down will come baby, cradle and all."_

Romana entered quietly and saw that Nancy was handcuffed to the table, a gas masked soldier asleep next to her. Romana gestures Nancy to keep singing as she crept forwards, sonic in her hand. _"Rock-a-bye-baby, on the tree tops. When the wind blows the cradle will rock." _Nancy sang, fear could be heard in her voice and Romana soniced the handcuffs and they broke lose and she and Nancy escaped and headed back to the bomb site.

Braxiatel took the cover of the spacecraft gracefully and the lights around the craft lit up as he did so.

Jack pointed at it and rubbed his hands because of the cold. "You see? Just an ambulance."

Nancy frowned. "That's an ambulance."

"It's hard to explain. It's from another world." Rose told her as the two time lords and Jack examined it.

"They've been trying to get in." Jack noticed.

Romana scoffed. "Of course they have. They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon. What are you doing? She asked as Jack was typing some keys to access the code.

"The sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll know I had nothing to do with it." Jack replied but suddenly there were loud bang that came from the spacecraft and sparks appeared and he flinched and the access panel suddenly had a large, red flashing light before it set out a sort of alarm. "That's weird. It didn't happen last time." He frowned.

"It hadn't crashed last time. There'll be emergency protocols." Braxiatel scolded at him.

Rose looked towards the hospital where they saw the doors of the hospital been battered by the patients. "Romana!" She cried.

"Captain, secure those gates!" Romana demanded as she looked over the spacecraft.

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Jack hurriedly secured the gates whilst she quickly gave a brief look at Nancy. "Nancy, how'd you get in here?"

"I cut the wire." She replied.

"Show Rose. Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty eight D." She chucked Rose the sonic screwdriver.

Rose caught it, looking at it as though she had never seen it before. "What?"

"Reattaches the wire. Now go before she gets moody with you." Braxiatel told her and Nancy hurriedly showed Rose where she cut through the wire.

Romana fiddled with the spacecraft, Braxiatel at her side giving her helpful insights about it. He had seen a lot whilst travelling around the universe much like his brother and he was thankful that he had when Jack headed back over to them. "It's empty. Look at it." Jack protested once Romana got the right codes.

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops?" Braxiatel asked before turning to Rose who brought Nancy back with her and she handed him the sonic screwdriver. "Rose?"

"I don't know." She said, not wanting to be involved in the argument.

"Yes you do." Roman called to her.

"Nanogenes!" Rose replied, realizing what was meant to be inside it.

Romana stopped fiddling with the spacecraft and looked at Jack. "It wasn't empty Captain. There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

Jack looked at the spacecraft with horror. Realizing what he had done. "Oh god."

Romana folded her arms. "Getting it now are we? When the ship crashed, the nanogenes escaped. Billions upon billions ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and was wearing a gas mask."

Rose looked horrified. "And they brought him back to life? They can do that?"

"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. But these nanogenes are not like the ones in Jack's ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body and there's not a lot left but they carry on and do what they're programmed to do. Patch up. Can't tell what's gas mask and what's skull but they do their best. Then they fly off because there's work to be done. Because you see, now they think they know what people should like and it's time to fix all the rest and they won't ever stop. _Never. _The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother and nothing in the world can stop it!" Romana yelled at Jack.

Jack swallowed and looked down, ashamed. "I didn't know."

Braxiatel worked on the ambulance whilst the patients approached. Nancy turned to face them.

"Rose!" She yelled and Rose ran over to her.

Her eyes widened at the site of the army of gas mask people. "It's bringing the gas mask people here isn't it?"

Romana nodded. "The ship think it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol."

"But the gas mask people aren't troops." Rose protested.

"They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you." Romana eyed them.

"That's why the child's so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing."

"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old looking for his mummy and now there's an army of them." As soon as Romana finished her sentence, the patients surrounded them outside the barbed wire.

"Why won't they attack?" Jack asked, eyeing them.

"They're soldiers waiting for their commander." Braxiatel replied.

"The child?"

"Jamie." Nancy suddenly stated and everyone turned around to look at her.

"What?" Jack blinked.

"Not the child. Jamie." Nancy replied more firmly.

"How long until the bomb falls?" Rose asked.

"Any second now." Jack replied.

Romana shook her head. "What's the matter Captain, a bit close to the volcano for you?"

"He's just a little boy." Nancy said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I know." Romana replied softly.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy."

"There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save this mummy and this little boy can." Romana replied.

"And you would know that would you Romana?" Braxiatel asked, raising an eyebrow and she flinched. Remembering Leela and her child.

"So what're we going to do?" Rose looked at the spacecraft, trying to ignore the gas mask people that surrounded them.

"To be honest with you, no idea." Romana admitted.

Nancy swallowed. "It's all my fault."

Romana turned to face her, frowning. "How can it be-"

"Mummy! Mummy? Mummy!" The patients started chanting all of a sudden and realization suddenly dawned onto Romana and Braxiatel.

"Nancy, what age are you? Older than you look am I right?" Romana asked softly as the bombs got closer.

Jack shook his head. "Romana, that bomb. We've got seconds."

"You can teleport us out." Rose pointed out.

"Not you guys. The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols."

"It's volcano day. Do what you've got to do." Braxiatel stated.

"Jack?" Rose asked but too late, Jack vanished.

"How old were you five years ago? Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth. He's not your brother is he? A teenage single mother in 1941 so you hid. You lied. You even lied to him." Romana spoke.

Nancy looked down in shame and the bomb site gates opened and Jamie stood there in front of his army.

"Are you my mummy?" Jamie asked as he walked further towards them.

"He's going to keep asking Nancy. He's never going to stop. The future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me and tell him." Romana smiled gently.

Nancy turned to face Jamie and she and Jamie walked towards each other. The child asking the same question over and other again.

"Are you my mummy?"

Nancy wiped her tears away. "I'm here." She knelt down onto her knees so she could be the same height as her son.

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes."

"Are you my mummy?"

Braxiatel sighed. "There's not enough left of him."

"Shush!" Romana shushed him, watching the scene with interest.

"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so sorry." Nancy hugged Jamie and a cloud of nanogenes surround them.

Romana grinned widely.

"What's happening? Roamna, it's changing her. We should-" Rose began.

"Shush!" Romana shushed her. "Come on you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out." She cheered quietly.

Rose frowned. "What's happening?"

"Recognising the same DNA." Romana replied just as Jamie let go and Nancy fell to the ground. Romana ran over to the mother and son. "Oh come on, just give me a day like this. Give me this one." She removed Jamie's mask and the boy blinked and Romana smiled before picking up the boy and resting him on her hips. The mother instincts she never had kicking in."Ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years until pop music, you're going to love it." She smiled at him before smiling at Braxiatel who moved over to her.

Romana was going to be a fantastic mother, he realized. She just doesn't see it yet. But how will he be for a father? The close he got to children was helping his brother's granddaughter Susan for a brief time after her parents passed away. The Doctor had been devastated over the loss of his child.

"What happened?" Nancy asked and Romana put Jamie back on the ground.

"The nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha! Mother knows best." Romana smiled.

"Oh Jamie." Nancy hugged Jamie once more.

"Romana, that bomb." Rose asked looking around nervously.

"Taken care of." Braxiatel replied.

"How?

"Psychology." He supplied just as the bomb hurtles towards them but it gets caught in Jack's light beam just before impact. Jack was sitting astride the bomb.

"Romana! Braxiatel!" Jack shouted and the two time-lords looked up.

"Change of plan. Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?" Romana asked.

Jack nodded before looking at Rose. "Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Love the t-shirt. Goodbye." He grinned and Rose smiled before he and the bomb vanish. Jack's spaceship sucks up the light beam and flew off.

Romana summoned some nanogenes to herself.

"Romana, what are you doing?" Braxiatel asked.

"Software patch. Going to email the upgrade." She turned her head briefly to him. "You want moves Braxiatel? Rose? I'll give you moves." She threw the nanogenes to the waiting patients and soldiers who then all fell to the ground. "Everybody lives Rose. Just this once, everybody lives!" She cried, tears of joy and the patients stood up again, back to normal.

Romana made her way to Doctor Constantine and smiled. "Doctor Constantine. Who never left his patients. Back on your feet Doctor, the world doesn't want to get by without you just yet. I don't blame it at all! These are your patients. All better now." She said as she helped him up. Doctor Constantine was an honourable and brave man, she felt that if the Doctor was alive today he would of gotten along extremely well with this human.

He looked around. "Yes, so it seems. They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?"

Romana shrugged. "You know, cutbacks. Listen, whatever was wrong with them in the past, you're probably going to find that they're cured. Just them them what a great doctor you are. Don't make a big thing of it okay?"

Romana made her way back to the spacecraft before summoning up some the last remaining nanogenes. Braxiatel and Rose looking at her with confusion.

"Romana, we don't need anymore nanogenes. They're all cured." Rose said to her.

Romana shook her head. "Not for them Rose. For me." She aimed the nanogenes on her stomach and the nanogenes glowed for a minute before vanishing and she smiled hopefully. She turned Rose away from Braxiatel and moved her away out of earshot from Braxiatel. "Back on Gallifrey, female time-lords were cursed by a visionary and were unable to reproduce naturally unlike you humans." She began to explain. "It was called the Pythia curse. Children of Gallifrey were born out of something called Looms, I was born out of one and so was Braxiatel despite him having a human mother."

"You want a child with Braxiatel don't you?" Rose asked her softly, realization dawning on her as she shared a quick glance at Braxiatel who looked at them curiously.

Romana nodded. "One day yes. I've always wanted to be a mother and perhaps these nanogenes may help me grant a child." She turned to face the patients. "Right, you humans! There is loads of things to do. Beat the Germans, save the world and don't forget the welfare state! Setting this to self-destruct as soon as everybody clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?" The humans smiled at her, admiration in their eyes.

"Usually the first in line." Braxiatel remarked and he and Romana shared a cheeky grin whilst Rose shook her head, amused.

After they sorted out the spacecraft, they went back in the TARDIS and Romana was bouncing on the balls of her heels happily. "The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off because I told them to. Nancy and Jamie will got o Doctor Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, things are brilliant."

Rose smiled. "Look at you, beaming away like you're father christmas."

Romana grinned. "Who says I'm not? Red bicycle when you were twelve?" She pressed some buttons on the console and Braxiatel face-palmed.

"What?" Rose blinked. So that was who gave her the red bicycle.

"And everybody lives Rose! Everybody lives!" She spun around, feeling much happier than she had in decades. "Everybody lives! I need more days like this."

"Romana."

"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on fire!" Romana snapped her fingers, having a giddy feeling inside her. This was new, she never felt anything like this before in her past regenerations as she danced around the console.

"What about Jack? Why'd he say goodbye?" Rose asked and Romana stopped dancing.

* * *

Jack was sitting in his chair and he swirled it around to face the view before him before pressing a few buttons above his head. "Okay, computer, how long can we keep the bomb in stasis?"

"Stasis decaying at ninety percent cycle. Detonation in three minutes." The computer replied.

"Can we jettison it?"

"Any attempt to jettison the device will precipitate detonation. One hundred percent probability."

Jack looked slightly hopeful. "We could stick it in an escape pod."

"There is no escape pod on board."

Damn, there went his hope down the drain. "I see the flaw in that. I'll get in the escape pod." He said, trying to cheer himself up but he knew it was useless.

"There is no escape pod on board." The computer almost seemed to stress this sentence.

"Did you check everywhere?" Jack of course knew that there wasn't, he checked it when he first got the ship and that was the only flaw about this ship. He shook his head. If he ever gets a ship next time, he'll make sure there is an escape pod.

"Affirmative."

"Under the sink?" He joked.

"Affirmative."

Jack sighed. "Okay, out of one hundred, exactly how dead am I?"

"Termination of Captain Jack Harkness in under two minutes. One hundred percent probability."

He gritted his teeth. Yeah, he really didn't need to know that. "Thanks. Good to know the numbers." He replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

"Okay then. Think we'd better initiate emergency protocol four one seven."

"Affirmative." A martini appeared in front of Jack and Jack took a sip out of it before sitting back in his chair.

"Oooh, a little bit too much vermouth. See if I come here again. Funny thing, last time I was sentenced to death I ordered four hyper-vodkas for my breakfast. All a bit of a blur after that. Woke up in bed with both my executioners." He smirked at the memory and stirred the drink with the tip of his finger. "Mmm, lovely couple. They stayed in touch. Can't say that about most executioners. Anyway, thanks for everything computer. It's been great." He raised his glass and was about to finish his drink when he faintly heard Moonlight Serenade playing in the background and he frowned and swirled his chair and looked down the spaceship and through the open doors of the TARDIS where he saw Romana and Braxiatel dancing and Rose laughing in the corner.

Rose poked her head out of the TARDIS. "Come on up then!" She called before disappearing back inside and Jack ran up.

"Okay, Braxiatel and right and turn and spin." Romana spoke to Braxiatel as she taught him how to dance and Romana stole a quick glance at Jack. "Close the door will you? Your ship's about to blow up, there's going to be a draught."

Braxiatel obeyed Romana's dance commands but he was clumsy and kept tripping over his feet, making Romana giggle."Thousand years of time and space, I'm sure know this." Romana pulled away from Braxiatel and walked up to the console.

Jack closed the door and Romana started up the engine. "Welcome to the TARDIS." She said to Jack.

Jack nodded his chin towards the console. "Much bigger on the inside."

"You'd better be." Romana remarked as she made her way over back to Braxiatel.

Rose turned to face Jack. "I think what Romana is trying to say is that we may cut in."

Suddenly, Braxiatel snapped his fingers at Romana and sent her a wide smile. A smile that was so rare to see on his face. "Romana! I've just remembered!"

Romana smirked. "What?" Braxiatel pressed a few buttons on the console and the music changed from waltz to swing to Glenn Millers In the Mood and Braxiatel started showing of his moves, his time-lord robes swinging about as he danced and it looked very unusual on him.

"I can dance! I can _actually_ dance!" He twirled her around and she laughed. Her laughter was so rare it was like music in his ears "My mother was more of a jazz fan."

"Actually Braxiatel, I thought Jack might like this dance." Rose said and she dragged Jack and they both joined in the dancing, copying the moves Braxiatel made with Romana. Romana loved it when Braxiatel dipped her low and Romana laughed, feeling truly happy for the first time in years.

"I'm sure he would Rose but as you can see I'm busy with Romana." He danced and the TARDIS seemed to be happy as well, happy that her fellow time-lords and humans were smiling and dancing all together as though nothing in the world was going to stop them.


	19. Boom Town Part 1

After the four of them had finished their dance sessions and had calmed down from all the excitement, Braxiatel excused himself and made his way to his work shop. Romana had her books and research, he had his sonic screwdriver to work on.

The workshop itself was a large room and was filled with all the equipment that Braxiatel required. He was somewhat thankful that last TARDIS in the universe was his brother's TARDIS because he knew that the Doctor liked to collect things during his travels and sometimes the TARDIS would add objects in the rooms later on as well. He was also thankful because it was the only remaining thing he had that belonged to his family apart from his memories.

He sat down on the stool and began to work on some wires on the sonic. The sonic that he was working on wasn't like Romana's where it was big and had a shiny blue tip at the end. His sonic screwdriver was almost very slim and shiny, almost like a pen and was very slick and felt light in his hands. He made sure to add a few extra settings, just to annoy Romana and he gave a slight smirk and put on some goggles before drilling into it, sparks shooting out, deep in thought as he worked.

As he worked, his thoughts kept drifting over to Romana. Could he ever truly forgive her for destroying Gallifrey? For making them the last of the Time Lords? Braxiatel could see her reasons for destroying Gallifrey. He didn't want to end up working for Rassilon but Rassilon had blackmailed him and he had no choice otherwise he would never be able to regenerate ever again. The bastard. He drilled harder. Just the thought of Rassilon made him angry to the bone. A Time-Lord who he had worshipped nearly all of his lives was nothing but a hypocrite.

He stopped the drilling and lifted up his goggles as he fixed some metal on the sonic screwdriver. Speaking of Romana...how on Gallifrey was he going to court her? Braxiatel knew that in order to court her, he'll have to forgive her and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting Braxiatel out of his thoughts and he hastily took of his goggles. "Come in."

The door opened and Jack's head poked through, giving him a grin and Braxiatel held the urge to roll his eyes. Fifty first century humans. He'll never hear the end of it. "What is it?" He snapped slightly, not pleased that he was interrupted from his work and he took of his gloves.

"Romana told me I'll find you in here." Jack replied, ignoring his glare as he sauntered over to him and sat down next to him. "Building yourself a sonic screwdriver?"

"Yes. It's about time I needed one."

Jack looked at it admiringly. "Sweet."

"Is there a particular reason why you wanted to see me?"

Jack turned his gaze away from the sonic and looked at Braxiatel. "I just want a word with you."

"Oh?"

"You like her don't you."

It wasn't a question, Braxiatel noted but merely a statement and he avoided Jack's eyes as he looked back at the sonic screwdriver. "What are you talking about?" He scowled, but of course he knew exactly what Jack was talking about.

Jack rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Oh come on, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me. You humans, sticking your nose into everybody's business." He shook his head. Jack was right, he _liked _Romana. But he couldn't bring himself to admit it. He was a lot older than her, four hundred years apart at least and not to mention all the incidents in the past that they have both caused...will they ever truly forgive each other? "You know nothing about us."

"I might not." Jack admitted. "But I see the way you look at her when she's not looking and I know that's telling me something." He got up to leave the room. "Romana wants you to help you to rebuild the TARDIS by the way, we're going to head back to Cardiff for refuelling." With that Jack left the room and Braxiatel rubbed his forehead and sighed.

Women. Humans. He shook his head and got up. He'll never understand how his brother always manages to get along with them. He'll fix his sonic another time.

* * *

It was a little while later and Braxiatel found Romana up on some ladders, a helmet with a light attached to her head and she was up fixing some wires. She had changed into a black biker's jacket but still her usual clothes that her new body had taken to a liking to. Rose was watching her as she worked and stood near the console before smiling at Braxiatel, Jack following in behind.

"Managed to get him out of his cave," Jack called cheerily. "Should call it the bat-cave."

"Shut up." Braxiatel grumbled and he sat in the captain's chair, not even bothering to help Romana fix the TARDIS. "It's not even a cave."

"He's only teasing." Rose grinned, flipping her scarf around her neck. Suddenly there was a knock on the TARDIS door and Jack made his way to answer it.

"Who the hell are you?" Jack asked as Mickey stood in front of the TARDIS.

Mickey seemed unfazed by Jack's comment. "What do you mean, who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?"

"Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever your selling, we're not buying."

Mickey glared at him. "Get out of my way!" He called and he pushed Jack to the side and entered the TARDIS.

Braxiatel looked up. "Ah, so this must be Mickey boy you've been telling me about." He commented as Mickey walked up to Rose.

Romana turned briefly to look at Mickey. "Here comes trouble! How you doing Mickey the idiot?"

Mickey gave her a slight glare. "I'm not an idiot!"

Rose walked up to him, smiling. "Don't listen to her. She's winding you up."

"You look fantastic." Rose gave Mickey a hug.

"Aw sweet, look at these two. How come I never get any of that?" Jack commented looking at Romana. Braxiatel narrowed his eyes at him and Jack smirked. Oh, two can play a game.

"Buy me a drink first." Romana replied.

"You're such hard work."

"Worth it." Romana gave him a cheeky smile. So a drink was all that was needed to ask Romana out on a date? Was it really that simple?

"Did you manage to find it?" Rose asked.

Mickey got Rose's passport out of his pocket and handed it to her. "There you go." He grinned.

"I can go anywhere now." She showed the two Time-lord's the passport, smiling.

Romana rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? You don't need a passport when you're with me."

"It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything." She looked smugged and Romana sighed, giving up on Rose and her passport.

"Sounds like your staying then." Rose's smile was wiped of her face and Mickey looked over at Jack and Braxiatel. "So what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's jumping Jack Flash and this guy here-" He pointed to Braxiatel. "I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big ears up there-"

"Hey!" Romana protested and Braxiatel smirked at her mock-offended look.

Mickey shook his head. "But look at these two guys. I don't know, they're both kind of-"

"Handsome?" Jack supplied, sending Braxiatel and smirk and they both laughed.

"More like cheesy."

Jack leaned over the console. "Early twenty first century slang. Is cheesy good or bad?" Jack pretended not to know.

"It's bad."

"But bad means good, isn't that right?"

"Are you saying I'm not pretty?" Romana raised an eyebrow and climbed down the ladder, taking her helmet of as she did so.

"You're always beautiful Romana." Braxiatel supplied and he could of sworn there was a faint blush on her cheeks as she said it before she ducked her head down and Jack smirked, noticing the interaction.

Rose didn't pay any attention to them. "We just stopped off. We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city, it's invisible but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions."

"The rift was headed back in 1869-" Romana continued.

"Thanks to a girl named Gwyneth because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it."

"But the closing rift always leaves a scar and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race." Jack said.

"But it's perfect for the TARDIS, so just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and open up the enginges, soak up the radiation-like filling up with petrol and off we go!" Braxiatel replied, getting annoyed at how Romana, Jack and Rose were finishing off each other's sentences. They were all like school kids.

"Into time!" Jack replied and Braxiatel groaned.

"And space!" Romana, Jack and Rose replied in unison and they all high-fived each other apart from Braxiatel and Mickey.

Mickey looked at them in disbelief. "My god, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever don't you?"

"Yup." Romana replied.

"Yeah."

"Yep!"

Braxiatel shook his head and looked at Mickey. "You see this is who I have to deal with every time I go on travels."

Romana punched his arm lightly. "Oh stop being such a spoilt sport, just because Jack dragged you away from building your sonic screwdriver."

"I'm not being a spoilt sport." He scowled and the four of them headed outside and he locked the TARDIS with his key, thanking his dead brother once more for giving him a spare key. "I just prefer not to be _cheesy._"

"Come on, cheer up. It's Cardiff!" She put her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulders briefly but he said nothing and she sighed before looking back at the others. "Should take another twenty four hours, which means we've got time to kill." She told them as they walked, her arm still slung through Braxiatel's.

"That old lady's staring." Mickey said, wide eyed as an old lady with shopping bags eyed them before quickly walking away from them.

"Probably wondering what four people could do inside a small wooden box." Jack replied merrily.

Mickey glanced at him. "What are you Captain of, the Innuendo Squad?"

Jack made a whatever gesture with his hands and walked away and Mickey shook his head before catching up with Romana and Braxiatel. "Wait, the TARDIS, we can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?"

"Yeah, what's with the Police box? Why does it look like that?" Jack asked, shoving his hands into his pocket.

"It's a cloaking device." Rose replied as she skipped next to Mickey.

"It's called a Chameleon circuit. The TARDIS is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands so for example, if this was Ancient Rome it'd be a statue on a plinth or something similar. But my brother landed his ship in the 1960's when he got exiled to Earth and it disguised itself as a police box and the circuit got stuck." Braxiatel replied.

"Whoa, hang on. Are you the Doctor's brother?" Mickey gaped at him.

Braxiatel nodded. "Irving Braxiatel, at your services." He gave him a mock salute.

"Looked up your brother on the UNIT website but it never mentioned you. Never said he had any family what so ever."

"Unlike my brother, who is now dead, I liked to keep myself out of trouble." Romana rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right, trouble runs in your family and you know it." She countered.

Mickey shook his head. "So it copied a real thing? There actually was a police box?"

"Yeah on street corners. Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside till help came. It's like a little prison cell." Romana replied.

"Why don't you just fix the circuit?" Jack asked.

"My brother had that ship for centuries. It's the only thing I have left of him. Besides, we rather like it." Braxiatel said, indicating to himself and Romana.

"I love it." Rose grinned.

"But that's what I meant. There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?" Mickey protested.

"Mickey let me tell you a fact about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box in the middle of a human town, what do you humans do? Walk past it. Now, stop your nagging and let's go." Braxiatel said, getting irritated.

"What's the plan?" Rose asked, fiddling with her scarf.

"I don't know. Cardiff, early twenty first century and the wind's coming from the east. Trust me, safest place in the universe." Romana grinned before pointing to a restaurant. "Let's go in there shall we?" The five of them headed in and sat down, Romana sitting next to Braxiatel and soon enough Jack began to tell them tales about the adventures he had as life of a con-man and everyone was listening with interest.

"I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks-"

"You're lying through your teeth!" Romana laughed.

Rose shook her head. "I'd have gone bonkers! That's the word-bonkers!"

Jack grinned. "I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks! And it's woken and it's not happy."

"How could you not know it was there?" Braxiatel asked.

"And we're standing there, fifteen of us naked."

"Naked?!" Rose laughed, tears of laughter from her eyes.

"And I'm like, oh, no,no. It's got nothing to do with me. And then it roars and we are running. Oh my god, we are running! And Brakovitch falls so I turn to him and say-"

"I knew we should've turned left!" Mickey replied, grinning. Everybody burst into laughter, even Braxiatel had to admit that was a funny story and he shook his head, amused.

"That's my line!" Jack protested, still laughing.

Rose sat back in her chair, content. "I don't believe you. I don't believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant. Did you ever get your clothes back?" As they were talking, Romana got up and left the table, frowning as she did so and snatched a newspaper from the man opposite them and began to read it. Braxiatel looked up and frowned at her, the humans not noticing.

"No, I just picked him up and went right for the ship, full throttle. Didn't stop until I hit the spacelanes. I was shaking. It was unbelievable. It freaked me out and by the time I got fifteen light years away I realised I'm like this-"

Romana sighed and turned around to them. "And I was having such a nice day." She held up the newspaper and the four of them looked at her to show the front page of the Western Mail with the picture of Margaret the Slitheen. They all became deadly silent.


	20. Boom Town Part 2

The five of them headed towards the city hall foyer where Margaret was meant to be, all of them walking up the front steps and Jack tapped in some codes in his wrist strap, talking as he walked.

"According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Okay, plan of attack, we assume a basic fifty seven fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Romana, Braxiatel, you go face to face. That'll designate Exit One, I'll Cover Exit Two. Rose, you exit three, Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Have you got that?"

Romana looked at him, slightly affronted at not being in charge. "Excuse me who's in charge here?"

Jack put down his wrist strap device and looked sheepish. "Sorry. Awaiting orders ma'am."

Romana shook her head before looking back at front. "Right, here's the plan." They waited for Romana to give them orders but there weren't any and she turned to look at Jack. "Like he said, nice plan. Anything else?"

"Present arms." The five of them each pulled out a mobile device, Braxiatel was surprised to find that he had a mobile inside his pocket robes but no doubt Romana had put on in there with their numbers in.

"Ready?" Romana asked, pressing a key.

"Ready." They all replied.

"Speed dial?" Jack inquired.

"Yup." Romana grinned, she was enjoying herself.

"Ready." Rose saluted with her mobile.

"Check." Mickey nodded.

"See you in hell." Jack replied and they all split up, Romana and Braxiatel heading towards the Mayor's office.

The pair of them came upon a young man sitting at a desk by the door who was currently typing something on the computer. "Hello, I've come to see the Lord Mayor." Romana greeted him.

"Have you got an appointment?"

"Nope, just an old friend passing by. Wanted it to be a surprise and congratulate her. Can't wait to see her face." Braxiatel shook his head, Romana was extremely cheery today despite the Slitheen ruining their fun afternoon. Even time-lords have to have days off from saving the world.

"Well, she's just having a cup of tea." The receptionist told her.

"Just go in there and tell her Romaavoratrelundar would like to see her."

"Romana-who?" The man blinked, trying to process Romana's name.

"Just Romana. Tell her exactly that. Romana." She was practically bouncing on the balls of her toes in excitement.

"Hang on a tick." The receptionist went inside, Romana turning her back on the door. A few seconds later, they heard a cup of tea smash and Romana chuckled, shaking her head before the receptionist comes back out again, closing the door behind them. "The Lord Mayor says thank you for popping by. She'd love to have a chat, but er, she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week?"

"She's climbing out of the window isn't she?" Braxiatel drawled, getting bit bored.

The receptionist nodded. "Yes, she is."

Romana and Braxiatel dashed through the office, Braxiatel on his mobile. "Slitheen heading north." He called to the others but just as he was about to say something else, the receptionist wrestled with Romana and he switched of his mobile to assist her. No stupid human was going to hurt Romana.

He finally managed to knock the receptionist with a simple swift move and Romana put her hands on her hips, huffing. "I had that under perfect control." She stated as she ran to the window to see Margaret running in the only available direction.

Margaret reached the bottom of the ladder and took of her brooch and started to run but she saw Rose coming towards her and snarled before she removed her right earring. Then Jack came running from the opposite direction which was across the front of the building.

"No you didn't." Braxiatel replied and the pair of them climbed down the ladder, just as Margaret removed her earrings and put it with her brooch on her palm.

"Who's on exit four?!" Jack shouted as they ran up.

"That was Mickey!" Rose replied just as Mickey came, a bucket attached to his foot.

"Mickey the idiot." Romana commented as they joined the humans.

"Oh be fair. She's not exactly going to outrun is she?" Rose chided but just then, Margaret vanished from view.

"She's got teleport! That's cheating! Now we're never going to get her." Jack protested.

"Oh you'll be surprised. We time-lords are _very _good with teleports." Braxiatel told him and Romana held up her sonic screwdriver and clicked the button, making Margaret reappear. Margaret turned around again and vanished only to have Romana do the exact same thing and making her reappear. Margaret vanished again but Romana used her sonic and brought her closer, Margaret finally stopped and was leaning over and panting.

"I would do this all day." Romana commented, cheerily as she put away her sonic screwdriver.

"This is persecution. Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?" Margaret glared, putting away her teleport devices.

"You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet."

"Apart from that." Margaret managed once she got her breath back.

* * *

They were now back in the city hall, Margaret with Romana. "To put it all together, you're a Slitheen and you're trapped on Earth. Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape but what do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?" Romana asked as she pointed to the model of the power station.

"A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways."

Braxiatel scoffed. That was highly unlikely. "Just so happens to be sitting right on top of the rift. What were you saying, Philanthropic gesture?" He folded his arms and smirked.

Margaret glared at him. "What rift would that be?"

"A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go suck boom!" Jack made a bombing impression with his hands over the model.

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity." Romana nodded.

Rose looked at Margaret. "Didn't anyone notice? Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?"

Margaret shrugged. "We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice. Oh, I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native." She shuddered at the thought.

"But why would she do that? A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself." Mickey pointed out.

Margaret glared at him. "She's got a name you know."

Mickey glared back. "She's not even a she, she's a thing."

"Oh but she's clever." Romana pulled up the middle section out of the model and turned it over to reveal electronics. "Oh this is superb I admit that."

Braxiatel peered at it. "Is that what I think it is?"

Jack looked at it almost gleefully. "Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?"

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Romana nodded.

"Oh genius!" Jack took it of Romana. "You didn't build this?" He asked Margaret.

"I have my hobbies. A little tinkering."

"No, what Jack meant was that you didn't build this. This technology is way beyond you. How did you get it?" Braxiatel asked. A Slitheen couldn't have developed this whilst it was on Earth. No way. It was too advance for their race.

"It fell into my hands."

Rose eyed the machine. "Is it a weapon?"

"It's a transport. You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a forcefield. You have this energy bubble so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system." Jack explained.

Mickey nodded in understanding. "It's a surfboard."

"A pan-dimensional surfboard yeah."

Margaret gave a slight sick smile. "And it would've worked. I'd have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilisation."

"You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?" Mickey asked her in disbelief.

"Like stepping on an anthill."

Romana was looking at the banner above the fire-place, reading the name, hands in her jacket's pockets. "How did you think of the name?" She asked Margaret.

"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh." Margaret replied, frowning slightly at the change of question.

Romana shook her head, turning to face them. "I know, but how did you think of it?"

Margaret shrugged. "I chose it at random that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?"

"Blaidd Drwg." Romana frowned, running her hand through her long brown hair, thinking deeply.

"What's it mean?" Rose asked.

"Bad Wolf." Braxiatel replied.

Rose looked at him with wide eyes. "But I've heard that before. Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times."

Romana nodded. "Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf." She turned to Braxiatel. "Have you heard it before?"

"Yes, I've heard Van Statten mention it a few times when he tortured me and back on the Satellite Five." He replied. Margaret looked at him with some sort of pity in her eyes and he turned away from her, his head held high with pride. He was a Time Lord. He does not need _pity. _

"How can they be following us?" Rose asked, looking slightly worried. If these two words were following them through time and space, could it mean a warning? Was something after them?

Romana suddenly grinned. "Sorry, just me thinking. My head is so full of information. It's like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day." She shook her head. "Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home."

Jack looked at her with wide eyes. "Hold on, isn't that the easy option? Like letting her go?"

Rose smiled at Romana. "I don't believe it! We actually get to go to Raxa. Wait a minute." She paused, trying to get her words right. "Raxacor-"

"Raxacoricofallapatorius."

"Raxacorico." Rose began slowly, making her way to Romana.

"Fallapatorius."

"Raxacoricofallapatorius. That's it! I did it!" She gave Romana a hug and the two women hugged each other, smiling.

Margaret sighed. "They have the death penalty. The family Slitheen was tried in it's absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return I am to be executed." She glanced at Romana. "What do you make of that Romana? Take me home and you take me to my death."

* * *

They were back in the TARDIS, Margaret with them and Braxiatel was keeping a close eye on the Slitheen. Not liking her in the TARDIS at all and he hated it when she touched the edge of the controls. "This ship is impossible. It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?" She asked in wonder.

Braxiatel scoffed. "Like we Time Lords would give you the secrets."

"I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods." Margaret gasped.

"Don't worship us. Romana already been worshipped once, didn't end to well and I'd make a very bad god. Jack, how we doing?" Braxiatel asked.

Jack put the extrapolator on the ground before frowning at it. "This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?"

"Oh I don't know. Some airlock sale?" Margaret replied, trying to avoid the question.

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."

"Can we use it for fuel?" Romana asked.

Jack shook his head. "It's not compatible but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."

"Then we're stuck here overnight."

"Oh I'm in no hurry." Margaret replied, smiling a bit too sweetly for Braxiatel's liking.

"We've got a prisoner. The Police box is really a police box." Rose exclaimed in realization and the TARDIS hummed.

"You're not just the police though. Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you." She looked at each and every one of them.

Mickey shrugged. "Well you deserve it."

Margaret turned to look at him picking up a small metal ball and she pressed it into her palms. "You've very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me how exactly? Long night ahead. Let's see you can look at me in the eye." She smirked and looked at each and everyone but no one looked at her. Not even Romana or Braxiatel.

* * *

A little while later, Mickey left the TARDIS followed by Rose and Romana watched them leave the Roald Dahl Plass on the TARDIS scanner.

"So, what's on?" Jack asked, clapping his hands.

"Nothing." Romana replied, turning of the screen.

"I gather it's not always like this, having to wait. I bet you are always the first to leave, Romana. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?" Margaret asked.

"I didn't butcher them." Romana told her flatly.

"Don't answer back. That's what she wants." Jack told her and Braxiatel nodded. At least this human was smart.

"I didn't butcher them but you're the one to talk. You had an emergency teleport and yet you didn't zap them to safety did you?" Romana scoffed.

"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs. It wasn't funny."

Romana laughed darkly but ended up sniggering at Margaret's glare. "Sorry but you have to admit from my point of view it is a little bit."

"Do I get a last request?" Margaret asked.

"Depends what it is." Braxiatel replied, not liking where this was going.

Margaret observed the two time lords. "I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favourite of mine."

Romana looked at her suspiciously. "Is that what you want, a last meal?"

"Don't I have the rights?"

"Oh, like she's not going to try and escape." Braxiatel glared at her, Margaret glared at him.

"Except I can never escape Romana so where's the danger? I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough." Romana replied just as coldly.

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them."

"Oh you'll be surprised, I've dined with plenty." Romana replied, casting a glance at Braxiatel and their thoughts both went to Rassilon. "You won't change my mind."

"Prove it."

"There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second they'll be in danger." Romana pointed out and Margaret gave a slight sneer.

"Except I got these." Braxiatel told them and he held up two bangles. He had them for a long time now and it was about time they were used. "You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away, she gets zapped by ten thousand volts. Had them since my collection and they have been very handy in the past." He smirked at the Slitheen who glared at him.

Romana turned around to Margaret, holding up the two bangles that Braxiatel had given her. "Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."

"Dinner in bondage. Works for me." She gave a sly smile and she put one of the bangles on her wrist and her and Romana left the TARDIS, leaving Jack and Braxiatel to fix the TARDIS.

They headed over to the restaurant which was called Bistro 10 that was currently quiet and they both sat down at a table near the windows, their wines already ordered and arrived. "Here we are, out on a date and you haven't even asked my proper name."

Romana shook her head. "No, it's not a date and what is your name?"

"Blon. I am Blon Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen. That's what it'll say on my death certificate." Blon stated as Romana opened the menu.

"Nice to meet you, Blon."

"I'm sure. Look, that's where I was living as Margaret." She pointed to some flats behind Romana. "Nice little flat, over there on the top. Next to the one with the light on." Romana turned to look and Blon put some powder from her ring into her wine. "Two bedrooms, bayside view. I was rather content. Don't suppose I'll see it again."

Romana turned back to face her and without even looking at the wine, she swapped the glasses over. "I suppose not." She commented, rather casually.

"Thank you." Margaret found it hard to smile.

"Pleasure."

"Tell me then, Romana. What do you know of our species?"

"Too much to be perfectly honest. Why?" She asked, not looking up from the menu, trying to order her food.

"Did you know, for example, in extreme causes when her life is in danger, a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture a poison dart within her own finger." Blon pointed her finger at Romana and the dart flew out but Romana caught it without even looking up.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Romana put the dart aside.

Blon smiled grimly. "Just checking. And one more thing, between you and me," They both looked around their table and leaned forward so Margaret could lean in and whisper to Romana. "As a final resort, the excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs." She started to exhale but Romana got a breath freshener out of her pocket and sprayed her tongue, Margaret coughing and blinking in surprise.

Romana merely grinned. "That's better. Now then, what are you having? I might have lamb and chips and some salad." She rubbed her hands together.

The waiter came and they both took their orders and the waiter left as soon as they ordered. Margaret looking at Romana. "Public execution's a slow death. They prepare a thin acetic acid, lower me into a cauldron and boil me. The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid and I become soup and still alive, still screaming."

Romana shrugged and sat back in her chair. "I don't make the law. Not any more."

"But you deliver it. Will you stay to watch?"

"What else can I do?"

"The Slitheen family's huge. There's a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them. Take me somewhere safe." Blon pleaded.

"You'll just start again. You've been in that skin suit too long. You've forgotten. There used to be a real Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin and yet, here you are, pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips." Romana shook her head, slightly disgusted.

"Perhaps I have got used to it. A human life, an ordinary life. That's all I'm asking. Give me a chance Romana. I can change."

Romana folded her arms, looking at her seriously. "I don't believe you."

"I promise you I've changed since we last met Romana. There was this girl just today. Young thing and was something of a danger at first. She was getting too close to the secret and I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me. I was going to kill her without a thought and then she said she was with child and then I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now. She's walking around this city because I can change. I did change. I know I can't prove it."

"I believe you." Romana replied sincerely.

"Then you know I'm capable of better."

"It doesn't mean anything."

"I spared her life!" Margaret protested, hurt flashing in her eyes.

"I could be pregnant right now but yet here you are, trying to kill me." Romana countered. "You wouldn't think about it twice killing me."

"But _are_ you pregnant?"

"No. My people didn't give birth naturally." Romana shook her head, sighing sadly. But that might change with the Pythia curse hopefully broken. "You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then a little victim's spared because she smiled, because he's got freckles, because they're with child or because they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind."

"Only a killer would know that. Is that right? From what I've seen, your funny little happy go lucky little life leaves devastation in it's wake. Always moving on because you dare not look back. Playing with so many peoples lives, you might as well be a goddess. You're right Romanavoratrelundar, you're absolutely right. Sometimes you let one go. Let me go." Margaret pleaded.

Romana knew that letting her go was risky. During her time as President she had to make decisions about dangerous time-lords and prisons but Margaret was a Slitheen, not a time-lord. She blocked out Margaret's pleading for a few seconds to be in her own thoughts and to ignore her pleading as they waited for their meal before she frowned as she heard something that sounded like thunder.

"Romana, are you even listening to me?"

Romana held up her finger to silence her. "Can you hear that?" She looked at the wine glasses, seeing the wine tremble within their glasses.

Margaret looked flabbergasted. "I'm begging for my life!"

"No, listen." Romana snapped at her and Margaret listened and just then, their glasses began to vibrate loudly and the glass window shattered to millions of tiny pieces. The customers around them began to scream as Romana and Margaret dashed their way past the Roald Dahl Plass.

Margaret couldn't keep up with the Time-Lady. "The handcuffs!" Margaret panted.

Romana waited for her to catch up and once she did she took the handcuffs of before glaring at the Slitheen. "Don't think you're running away." She warned as she grabbed her hand and ran towards the TARDIS.

"Oh, I'm sticking with you!"

Romana looked at the TARDIS only to see energy streaming from the TARDIS and into the sky, her eyes widening with horror. "It's the rift! The rift's opening!" She yelled and she pushed through the TARDIS doors, only to see Jack and Braxiatel working frantically at the consoles.

"What the hell have you done?!" She yelled at them both, more at Braxiatel as he was supposed to be the expert.

"It just went crazy!" Jack told her as he and Braxiatel pressed buttons hurriedly around the control. Sparks flying everywhere.

Romana pushed him aside to work with Braxiatel. "It's the rift! It's tearing time and space apart, the whole city's going to disappear!"

Braxiatel ran his hand through his hair and looked at Romana. "Jack disconnected the extrapolator but it's still feeding off the engine. It's using the TARDIS."

Rose entered, panting slightly and looking flustered. "What is it? What's happening?"

Margaret smirked. "Oh, just little me." She took an arm out of her body suit and grabbed Rose by the neck. The three of them looked at her with wide eyes. "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise."

"Oh, I might've known." Romana scowled.

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby now shut it. You," She looked at Braxiatel. "Alien boy, put the extrapolator at my feet." Margaret tightened her grip on Rose's neck and Romana nodded and Braxiatel obeyed. "Thank you, just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station." Rose managed to speak out, her voice hoarse.

"Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like Romana's and Braxiatel's. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift and what a power source it found! I'm back on schedule thanks to you lot."

Jack seethed at her. "The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet!"

"And you with it!" Margaret snapped and stood on the extrapolator. "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys and girls. Surf's up."

At that moment, the TARDIS console cracked open and a bright yellow light hit Margaret, causing her to shield her eyes.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll tear my brother's ship apart." Braxiatel told the Slitheen.

"So sue me."

"It's not just any old power source Margaret. It's the TARDIS. My brother's TARDIS and it's the best ship in the universe." Braxiatel admitted. Really, this ship was better than his own TARDIS. He liked his own TARDIS he'll admit but his brother always had the best equipment.

"It'll make wonderful scrap."

Rose blinked, the light shining on her face briefly. "What's that light?"

"The heart of the TARDIS, this ship is not a machine, it's alive. You've opened it's soul." Romana told her, rubbing the consoles as the TARDIS hummed in pain. Oh, she hated to see the TARDIS in pain. It pained her and she whispered soothing words to it, trying to calm her down.

Margaret was still staring at the light with wonder. "It's so bright." She whispered, awed.

"Look at it Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light." Romana encouraged her and Margaret relaxed and Rose broke free of her grip and ran over to Braxiatel.

Margaret looked up at Romana, smiling a true genuine smile. "Thank you." As soon as she said that, she disappeared into the light and the empty bodysuit crumples onto the extrapolator.

"Don't look! Stay there and close your eyes!" Romana shouted to the humans as she dashed over to the consoles and closed it. "Braxiatel, help me shut it all down. Jack, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right."

Braxiatel and Jack obeyed Romana's orders and Rose rubbed her sore throat where Margaret grabbed her. The energy stopped pouring into the TARDIS and Romana sighed with relief. "Nicely done. Good job everyone."

Rose peered at Margaret's skin. "What happened to Margaret?"

"Must've got burnt up. Carried out her own death sentence." Jack replied, walking over to her.

Romana shook her head. "No she's not dead."

"But then where'd she go?"

"She looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Even Braxiatel or myself don't know strong that is and this ship is telepathic like I told you Rose. This ship gets inside your head to translate alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts." Romana frowned as she walked over to Margaret's skin suit. She bent down and looked through it before she found a large egg that had what appeared to be large hairs poking out. "Here she is."

Rose's eyes widened. "She's an egg?"

"Regressed to her childhood." Braxiatel walked next to Romana, moving his robes to avoid them touching the skin suit. "She can start again. Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell them to bring her up properly, she might be all right."

Jack shrugged. "Or she might be worse."

"That's her choice."

Rose looked at the egg in awe. "She's an egg." She repeated.

"She's an egg." Romana gave a slight grin.

"Oh my god, Mickey." Rose looked worried and she ran out. Romana and Braxiatel removed Margaret's skin and Jack sat in the Captain chair just as Rose walked back in, looking bit sad.

"How's Mickey?" Romana asked.

"He's okay, he's gone." Rose replied, somewhat distantly.

"Do you want to go and find him?"

Rose shook her head, sighing sadly as she fiddled with her scarf. "No need. He deserves better."

Romana nodded and walked to the consoles, rubbing it soothingly and the TARDIS hummed gently, telling her it was feeling better and she smiled. "Off we go! Onwards!"

"Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius." Jack grinned. "Now you don't often get to say that."

"We're only just stopping by to put her in a hatchery." Braxiatel commented as he took the egg of Romana, looking at it. "Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. Second chance."

Rose smiled faintly. "That'd be nice."

Romana grinned and pulled the lever down on the TARDIS.


	21. Bad Wolf Part 1

Romana suddenly snapped her eyes as if she had just woken up from a nightmare which she does often have these days and realized she was on a cold wooden floor with mirrors everywhere and she quickly got up, frantically looking for the exit. "What is it? What's happening?" She gasped once she realized the room was a small spinning cupboard and she managed to find the door and she fell out when a young woman with curly blonde hair rushed to help her up.

"Oh my god, I don't believe it! Why'd they put you in there? They never said you were coming." The young woman gasped as she helped a dizzy Romana up.

Romana grabbed onto the woman's arms and pulled herself up, looking at her. "What happened? I was-" She shook her head, trying to clear away the dizziness. Her head hurt.

"Careful now!" The woman winced as Romana crashed into a table and Romana groaned in pain. "Oh! Mind yourself!" Romana managed to stand but she was swaying slightly. "That's the transmat. It scrambles your head. I was sick for days. All right? So, what's your name sweetheart?" The woman asked her gently as Romana swayed, blinking rapidly and she tried to process where she was.

"Romana. I was, er, I don't know." She shook her head, pushing her hair away."I don't know. What happened? How-"

"You got chosen." The woman smiled at her warmly, helping her stand.

Romana frowned, not liking where this was going. "Chosen for what?"

"You're a housemate. You're in the house. Isn't that brilliant?!"

Romana eyes widened and she looked around to see a pink screen with a stylised eye on it and a young man sitting on a couch looking not very pleased. "That's not fair. We've got eviction in five minutes! I've been here for all nine weeks, I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning and then she comes swanning in!" He pointed at Romana who stood with her long black military coat all scrunched up.

At that moment a dark skinned young lady jogged in. "If they keep changing the rules, I'm going to protest, I am. You watch me, I'm going to paint the walls." She complained.

Suddenly an electronic voice spoke, breaking the humans from having a conversation. "Would Romanadvoratrelundar please come to the Diary Room?"

The young woman who helped her up showed her the way to the diary room, Romana wondering what on Gallifrey was going on and she went through a door with the big brother's eye on and sat in what appeared to be a very big, red comfy chair.

"You are live on channel forty four thousand. Please do not swear." The computer told her.

Her eyes widened. "You have got to be kidding me." She demanded. Just what in the name of sanity was going on?

* * *

Rose woke up what appeared to be a studio floor and found a man bending over her, checking to see if she was okay.

Rose blinked, trying to get rid of the light in her eyes."What happened?"

"It's all right. It's the transmat, does your head in. Get a bit of amnesia. What's your name?" The man asked her gently.

Rose managed to sit up, groaning. "Where's Romana? Where's Braxiatel?" Where were her friends? She can't see them anywhere. They wouldn't just leave her in the middle of no where. Would they?

The man helped her up, ignoring her questions. "Just remember do what the android says. Don't provoke it." He said as Rose leaned on him for support. "The android's word is law."

Rose frowned. Android? "What do you mean, android? Like a robot?"

"Positions everyone!" A floor manager shouted. "Thank you!"

"Come on, steady now. Steady." The man replied.

Rose was wobbly on her feet. "I was travelling with Romana and these two men called Braxiatel and Captain Jack. Romana wouldn't just leave me." Where were her friends? More important, where was she?

The floor manager glanced over at them. "That's enough chat! Positions! Final call! Good luck!"

Rose looked at the man with worry. "I'm not supposed to be here."

"It says Rose on the podium. Come on," He helped her over next to his where his name said Rodrick.

Rose stared at it with wide eyes. "Hold on, I must be going mad! It can't be. This looks like the-"

"Android activated!" Lights flashed down onto the Android and the android head lifted up and Rose gasped in horror.

"Oh my god, the android. The Anne. Droid." Her mouth dropped open like a gold fish.

"Welcome to the Weakest Link!" The Anne Droid announced, lights dancing around it.

* * *

Braxiatel woke up, his eyes blurry and he realized a robot was staring down at him. "Here we go again. We've got our work cut out for us."

"I don't know. They're both sort of handsome." One of them pointed to a figure that Braxiatel realized was Jack who he was thankful to see. "He has a good lantern jaw."

"Lantern jaws are _so_ last year." Braxiatel winced in pain and rubbed his sore head before sitting up gently in his chair. He realized he was in a big, white room and in front of him were two pair of droids, one tall and thin and one short and curvy. Braxiatel realized they had him and Jack on an examination couch and he noticed a rack of clothes nearby.

"Ow," Braxiatel rubbed his head and looked over at Jack. "Where the hell are we?"

Jack shrugged. "No idea but I'd like to find out." He turned to the droids. "Sorry, nice to meet you ladies, but where exactly are we?"

"We're giving you both a brand new image." The thin droid told them as she glided away from them.

"We were in my ship before." Braxiatel told them. Speaking of which, where was his TARDIS? Oh, he's calling it his TARDIS now!

Jack merely looked down at his outfit. "Why is there something wrong with what we're wearing?" Braxiatel slapped Jack over the head at his comment. He wanted the human to concentrate, not mess around. Jack merely grinned.

"Yours is all very twentieth century." One of the droids told Jack before looking at Braxiatel. "Yours is all very exotic. Where on earth did you get it?"

"From my home planet thank you very much." Braxiatel glared at them. He didn't like these droids and he didn't like what was going on. Which was the main question on his mind, what exactly was going on? Where the hell was Romana and Rose?

Jack shrugged. "I got mine in a little place in Cardiff. It was called Top Shop."

"Ah! Design classic!" The fat android cheered.

The thin android turned to look at it's partner. "We're going to have to find them some new colours. Maybe get rid of that Oklahoma Farm boy thing you've got going on and get rid of that ridiculous crimson robe." Braxiatel sneered at them.

The two androids stood behind two metal machines. "Now both of you stand still and let the defabricators work their magic."

"What's a defabricator?" Jack asked and before Braxiatel could reply or even move back to avoid his precious robes getting removed, a light beamed from the defabricator and removed all of Braxiatel's and Jack's clothes, leaving them both standing very much stark naked.

"Okay. Defabricator. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?" Jack asked and Braxiatel glowered at him. Damn the human! Why wasn't he helping him get out of this mess?

The fat android looked at each other before looking at them both. "Absolutely!" They both chanted.

Jack smirked at Braxiatel before looking back at the droids. "Ladies, your viewing figures just went up." Braxiatel face-palmed. Out of all the humans he had to be stuck with and it had to be this one. Damn the fifty first century humans and their hormones!

* * *

Back in the Big Brother House, Romana was sonicing the door and frowned when she couldn't open it. Her head felt a lot better now and the dizziness had gone away and for that she was grateful. But she couldn't help but be worried. How did she get here and where the hell were her companions? "I can't open it." She tried kicking it but even that had no avail.

"It's got a deadlock seal. Ever since Big Brother's five hundred and four when they all walked out. You must remember that." The blonde woman told her, watching Romana as she soniced her way around.

"What about this?" Romana pointed to an alcove with a picture inside it.

"Oh that's exoglass. You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through it."

Romana snorted. "Don't tempt me now."

The woman looked at her with a shocked expression upon her face, not believing at what she was hearing before shaking her head and giving a slight smile. "I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching. Do people like me? Lynda. Lynda with a Y, not Linda with an I. She got forcibly evicted because she damaged the camera. Am I popular?" Lynda asked, biting her lip nervously.

"I don't know." Romana admitted. She never watched much television, never had the time for it.

"Oh." Lynda looked slightly disappointed. "But does that mean I'm nothing? Some people get this far just because they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?"

Romana turned to look at her. "No, you're nice. Everybody thinks you're sweet." She lied, just to try and make the human quiet.

Lynda brightened up at that. "Oh, is that right? That what I am? Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?"

"Yeah, dead sweet."

Lynda smiled, her smile reaching her eyes. "Thank you."

Romana turned back to the wall, sonic in her hands. "It's a wall. Isn't there supposed to be a garden out there or something?"

Lynda chuckled. "Don't be daft! No one's got a garden anymore. Who's got a garden? Don't tell me you've got a garden."

"I've just got the TARDIS which has a garden inside." Romana stopped suddenly, her eyes widening. "I remember now." She whispered.

"That's the amnesia! So what happened? Where did they get you?" Lynda asked.

"We'd just left Raxacoriofallapatorius. Then we went to Kyoto." Romana nodded. "That's right, Japan in 1336 and we only just escaped. We were together, laughing at a joke and Braxiatel had just finished building his sonic screwdriver and then there was this light. This white light coming through the walls of the TARDIS and then I woke up here." She shook her head, blinking.

"Yeah, that's the transmat. That's how they pick the housemates." Lynda told her.

"Oh Lynda with a Y. Sweet little Lynda. It's worse than that, much much worse. No stupid little transmat can get inside my ship and my ship is the most powerful ship in the universe. That beam was fifteen million times more powerful which means that this isn't just a game. There's something going on, hidden before everyone's eyes." She turned to speak into one of the eyes on the wall and Romana knew that there was a camera hidden in there. "Well, here's the latest update from Big Brother House, I'm getting out. I'm going to find my friends, I'm going to find Braxiatel and then, and then I'm going to find _you._" She pointed her finger at the glass and glared at it.

* * *

Back on the weakest link floor, the floor manager was counting down and Rose looked at Rodrick.

"But I need to find Romana." She told him urgently, gripping at her podium.

"Just shut up and play the game." Rodrick gave her a slight glare.

Rose sighed and looked back at the Anne droid. "All right then, what the hell. I'm going to play to win!"

"Three and cue!" The floor manager shouted.

Bright yellow lights flashed around the Anne droid. "Let's play, The Weakest Link!" The main theme played before she turned to face a man called Agorax. "Agorax, the name of which basic food stuff is an anagram of the word 'beard'?"

"Bread." Agorax replied.

"Correct." The Anne droid replied before turning to a woman called Fitch. "Fitch in the Pan Traffic Calender, which month comes after Hoob?"

Fitch bit her lip. "Is it Clavadoe?"

"No, Pandoff. Rose, in maths, what is 258 minus 158?"

"One hundred!" Rose grinned.

"Correct! Rodrick-"

"Bank!" Rodrick interrupted.

"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the word dangle but not in the word gland?"

"E."

"Correct. Colleen, in social security which D is the name of the payment given to Martian Drones?"

Colleen stared at the Anne droid. "Default." She replied without any hesitation.

"Correct. Broff, the Great Cobalt Pyramid is built on the remains of which famous Old Earth Institute?"

Broff who looked quite young looked nervous at the Anne Droid. "Er, Touchdown." He suggested,

"No, Torchwood. Agorax, in language, all five examples of which types of letter appear in the word facetious?"

"Vowels."

"Correct. Fitch, in biology, which blood cells contain iron? Red or white?"

At this moment, Rose had burst out laughing, unable to contain her laughter anymore and the other plays apart from Fitch looked at her as though she lost her mind. Fitch however looked really depressed. "White."

"No, red. Rose, in the holovid series 'Jupiter Rising,' the Grexnik is married to whom?"

Rose continued on laughing. "How should I know?"

"No the correct answer is Lord Drayvole."

* * *

Back on Jack and Braxiatel level, Jack was posing for the droids, clearing enjoying himself whilst Braxiatel merely scowled in the corner, not happy with the clothes he was put in. Currently the droids had made him wear a grey summer jumper, blue shirt and grey tie and grey pants. They made him comb his hair back. If his brother could see him now, he'll be laughing in his grave.

They however, have made Jack wear something that looked like he belonged in the secret services and was now posing and showing off his muscles. He was clearing enjoying himself way too much for Braxiatel liking.

The thin droid which Braxiatel learnt was called Trine-E spoke, looked at Jack. "It's the buccaneer look. Little dash of pirate and just a tweak of President Schwarzenegger. Braxiatel here however, looks just good enough with his classic retro look. We need to get that scowl of his face and make him smile more. Just need to sort out his ears too."

Braxiatel moved slightly back, oh no. "Jack." Braxiatel hissed at Jack, warning him to move back. Jack frowned, sensing some danger.

"I'm not sure about the vest? What about a little colour to lift it?" Jack asked.

"Absolutely not. Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and black look boring. Now let's talk Jacket's for the pair of you."

Jack moved slightly back. "I kind of liked the first one."

"No, that's a bit too much Hell's Angel. I think I like the the shorter one. Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum." Zu-Zana commented.

Jack grinned, despite the danger. "Works for me." Braxiatel rolled his eyes, even when they were in danger, Jack still had time to flirt.

"Once we got an outfit for the both of you, we can work on your faces. Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?" One of the droids moved towards a table and Braxiatel peered at it and his eyes widened as he saw the droid take of it's arm and change it into something more deadly.

"Oh no you don't." Braxiatel glowered. Damn these droids to hell!

Jack glanced at him worriedly, not seeing Trine-E changing it's arm. "I've considered it, yeah. A little lift around the eyes, tighten up the jaw line. What do you think."

"Jack, now is really not the right time." Braxiatel hissed.

"Oh, let's have a bit more ambition. Let's do something cutting edge." Trine-E was too busy changing her arm and Braxiatel moved Jack to show him what he could see.

"Oh." Was all Jack managed to say.

* * *

Back on Rose's level, all the contestants were choosing the weakest link of the round and the Anne Droid was questioning it's participants. "So, Rose, what do you actually do?" The Anne Droid asked.

Rose blinked. "I just travel bit. Bit of a tourist I suppose..." She ran her hand through her hair.

"Another way of saying unemployed."

"Well, not really no-"

"Then you _are_ unemployed. Yet, you've still got enough money to buy peroxide. Why Fitch?"

Rose glanced over at the woman. "Er, I think she got a few of the questions wrong, that's all."

"Oh, you'd know all about that." The Anne Droid stated and Rose gave it a slight glare.

"Well, yeah, but I can't vote for myself, so it had to be Fitch. I'm sorry, that's the game. That's how it works. I had to vote for someone."

Fitch burs into tears, surprising Rose and everyone looked at her sadly. "Let me try again! It was the lights and everything, I couldn't think." Fitch pleaded.

"In fact, with three answers wrong, Broff was the weakest link in that round but it's the votes that count." The Anne droid ignored her pleading.

Fitch sobbed. "I'm sorry. Please, oh god help me!"

"Fitch, you are the weakest link. Goodbye!" A barrel came out of the Anne droid's mouth and a beam disintegrates Fitch. The Anne Droid closes her mouth.

"And we've gone to the adverts. Back in three minutes!" The floor manager called.

Rose stared at where Fitch once stood with a sick expression upon her face. "What's that? What's just happened?"

"She was the weakest link, she gets disintegrated. Blasted into atoms." Rodrick replied, cleaning his board.

"But I voted for her. Oh my, this is sick." Rose looked at all of them, disgusted. "All of you, you're just sick! I'm not playing this."

Broff looked at her with fearful expression upon his face, shaking his head. "I'm not playing! I can't do it. I'm not." He broke down crying. "Please somebody let me out of here."

"You are the weakest link." The Anne droid commented as Broff ran across the studios but he got zapped by Anne. "Goodbye."

Rodrick shook his head. "Don't try to escape. It's play or die." He warned Rose who just stared at him with wide eyes.

* * *

Romana was still trying to find a way out but so far she had no luck. Everything was deadlock. Really, she needed to invent a setting for deadlock on her sonic.

"Romana, they said all the housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to." Lynda called to her.

"I'm a bit busy trying to find a way out at the moment." Romana gritted her teeth, getting more annoyed about not finding a way out.

"But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished."

"Well, maybe I'll be voted out then."

"How stupid are you? You've only just joined, you're not eligible!" The man who was called Strood told her.

Lynda shook her head. "Don't try anything clever or we all get it in the neck." She dragged Romana to the couch and Romana sat on the end, feeling grumpy and irritated.

Suddenly the computer voice spoke out "Big Brother House this is, Davina Droid. Crosbie, Lynda and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction. And the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is..." There was a long dramatic pause and the three humans all held hands and Romana folded her arms. "Crosbie!" Romana leant back on the sofa, extremely bored and irritated.

Lynda turned to her friend, giving her a hug. "I'm sorry! Oh, I'm sorry!"

Crosbie looked close to tears and Strood stood up. "Oh it should've been me, oh that's not fair, Crosbie love." He gave Crosbie a hug.

"Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells and then we're going to get out!"

Crosbie made her way to an arch, followed by her friends but Romana was still sitting in the couch. "I won't forget you." Lynda told her.

Crosbie looked at her, looking fearful. "I'm sorry I stole your soap."

Lynda shook her head. "I don't mind, honestly."

"Thanks for the food. You're a smashing cook. Bless you." Strood hugged her one last time.

"Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House!" A door to a short white corridor opened with another door at the far end.

"Bye then. Bye Lynda." Strood and Lynda make an arch and Crosbie walked through it, closing the door behind her.

Lynda and Strood made their way back to the couch, Lynda sitting down next to Romana. "I don't believe it. Crosbie." She whispered, fiddling with her sleeve.

"It's only a game show. She'll make a fortune on the outside. Sell her story, release a record, fitness video all of that rubbish. She'll be laughing!" Romana told her, not seeing what all this fuss was about. At least that what happened the last time she watched this show.

Lynda stared at her in disbelief. "What do you mean on the outside?"

The television turned it self on to reveal Crosbie on the screen. "Here we go." Strood gulped.

"What are they waiting for? Why don't they just let her go?" Romana put her hands behind her head. Why these humans were making such a dramatic fuss over this, she had no idea. Unless something sinister was happening.

"Stop it. It's not funny." Lynda snapped, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Eviction in five, four, three, two, one." Davina the computer spoke and a beam came down from the ceiling and hit Crosbie. After a few seconds, she vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind some dust.

Romana's eyes widened with horror and she leaned forwards. "What was that?" She asked, processing what just happened.

"Disintegrator beam." Strood replied.

"She's been evicted. From life." Lynda nodded, wiping away her tears. Romana looked at her. This seriously couldn't be happening.


	22. Bad Wolf Part 2

Romana stood up, looking horrified before turning to Lynda. "Are you all insane? You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Being famous? Is it really worth dying for?"

Lynda looked up at her with a fixed expression on her face. "You're talking like we've got a choice!"

"I thought you had to apply."

Strood shook his head, looking grim. "Don't be stupid. That's how they played it centuries back."

"You get chosen whether you like it or not. Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant. The transmat beam picks you out at random and it's non stop. There are sixty Big Brother houses running all at once." Lynda explained.

Romana's eyes widened. _"Sixty?"_

"They've had to cut back. It's not what it was."

"It's a channel house! What about the winners? What do they get?" Romana threw her hands in the air. Humans, she didn't understand why her old friend favoured them so much.

"They get to live." Lynda frowned.

"Is that it?"

"Well isn't that enough?"

Romana paced hurriedly. "Rose is out there. Braxiatel is out there and so is Captain Jack and they're all in danger. It's time I got out." She stopped pacing and looked at Lynda. "That other contestant, Linda with an I. She was forcibly evicted for what?"

"Damage to property." Lynda replied.

"What like this?" Romana pointed her sonic screwdriver at a security camera and blasted it. Lynda and Strood were looking at her as though she gone mad. Which was the actual case in their point of view.

* * *

Despite one of the droids having changed it's arm to a chainsaw, they were still dressing Jack and Braxiatel up as though they were toy dolls. They currently had Jack in a tennis outfit and even handed him a tennis racket and Braxiatel in some gym clothes and he was getting grumpier by the minute.

Jack observed his outfit. "No, I'm not getting this. It's just too safe, too decent. And you'd never keep it clean."

"Stage two, ready and waiting." Zu-Zana replied and both Jack and Braxiatel's clothes were disintegrated, leaving them both naked once more. By now, Braxiatel was used to standing naked in front of these people. They had at least made him naked about five times already.

"Bring it on girls." Jack replied, enjoying himself. Braxiatel growled.

"And now it's time for the face of." Trine-E replied.

"What does that mean? Do I get to compete with Braxiatel?" Jack asked.

Braxiatel shook his head and looked at Jack. "No, like these droids say, they mean they actually want our faces off. It's what I've been trying to tell you, idiot." Jack looked at him with a bug-eyed expression before turning back at the androids, just as Trine-E started up her chainsaw which roared loudly.

"I think you'd look good with a dog's head." Zu-Zanna commented at Jack before looking at Braxiatel. "He could have his ears removed and replace them with snake ears." She started up a large pair of scissors.

"Or maybe no head or ears at all. That would be so outrageous!"

"And we could stitch Braxiatel's legs in the middle of Jack's chest!" Trine-E said, almost sounded gleeful.

"Nothing is too extreme, it's to die for." Zu-Zanna replied and Jack looked at Braxiatel and nodded and both got out their weapons which were both tiny but powerful blasters.

"Now hold on ladies, we don't want to have to shoot either one of you."

"But you're both unarmed!" Trine-E remarked, moving slightly back. "You're both naked!"

"But-they're both a compact laser deluxe! Where were you both hiding them?" Zu-Zanna asked.

Jack smirked. "You really both don't want to know." Braxiatel laughed darkly.

"Give us those accessories!" Trine-E demanded, advancing towards them and Braxiatel shot Trine-E's head of and Jack blew up Zu-Zana's.

"Thank god that's over." Braxiatel sighed with relief, stepping behind the robots to get some new clothes.

"I was rather enjoying myself until the last bit."

"Shut it."

* * *

"You are the weakest link! Goodbye!" The Anne droid shouted and destroyed a woman called colleen.

"Going to the break! Two minutes on the clock. Just a reminder we've got a solar flare activity coming up to ten. Thanks everyone!" The floor manager shouted.

Rose looked at Rodrick. "Colleen was clever. She banked all our money. Why'd you vote for her?"

"Because I want to keep you in. You're stupid! You don't even know the Princess Vossaheen's surname. When it comes to the final, I want to be up against you so that you get disintegrated and I get a stack load of credits courtesy of the Bad Wolf Corporation." Rodrick replied, wiping his board.

Rose blinked. "What do you mean? Who's Bad Wolf?" She heard that before. Plenty of times during her travels with Romana. Throughout the whole time and space, even Romana mentioned that it was following them when they were with Margaret.

"They're in charge. They run the Game Station."

"Why are they called Bad Wolf?"

Rodrick shrugged. "I don't know. It's just a name. It's like an Old Earth nursery rhyme, that sort of thing. Why, does it matter?"

Rose bit her lip. "I keep hearing those words everywhere I go. Bad Wolf." First she heard Gwyneth mention it in the cellar, then one of Van Statten's helicopters and soldiers, and Romana and Braxiatel mention it. "Different times. Different places, like it's written all over the universe."

Rodrick stared at her. "What're you going on about?"

"If the Bad Wolf is in charge of this quiz, then maybe I'm not here by mistake. Someone's been planning this." Rose replied as realization dawned to her. Someone is after them, but who?

* * *

"Romana, you've broken the House Rules. Big Brother has no choice but to evict you. You have ten seconds to make your farewells and then we're going to get you!" Davina called and Romana dashed over to the room.

"That's more like it. Come on then, open up!" She demanded.

"You're mad! It's like you want to die." Lynda shook her head.

"I reckon she's a plant. She was only brought in to stir things up." Strood folded his arm as Romana ran into the white corridor.

"Come on then, disintegrate me! Come on, what're you waiting for?"

Lynda stared at the television screen. "She is, she's mad. She's bonkers."

Romana stamped her feet harshly on the ground, waving her arms around. "Disintegrate me! What are you waiting for?"

"Eviction in five, four, three, two one." The machine closed down.

Romana laughed. "Ha! I knew it! Someone brought me into this game. If they wanted me dead, they could've transmatted me into a volcano or something similar. They want me alive. Maybe security isn't as tight this end. Are you following this? I'm getting out!"

Romana turned behind her and opened the white door, just as Lynda opened the other door. "Come with me." Romana encouraged her.

Lynda shook her head. "We're not allowed."

"Stay in there, you've got a fifty fifty chance of disintegration. Stay with me, I promise I can get you out alive. Come on!" Romana gestured.

"No, I can't." Lynda looked nervous.

"Lynda, you're sweet. From what I've seen of your world, do you think anyone votes for sweet?" Romana asked and she held out her hand and Lynda took it and they both ran into a dark room.

Romana stopped, realizing where she was. "I've been here before. This is Satellite Five. No guards, that makes a change. You would think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth." Romana opened another door and they both went through it.

"No one's called it Satellite Five in ages. It's the Game Station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a hundred years." Lynda replied, looking around.

"A hundred years exactly. So it's the year two zero zero one zero zero. I was here before, Floor one three nine. The Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then. Had a bit of trouble upstairs, nothing that serious. Give them a hand and home in time for tea." Romana ran a hand through her hair.

Lynda blinked, astonished. "A hundred years ago? What, you were here a hundred years ago?"

"Oh yeah."

"You're looking good for your age."

"I moisturise." Romana snickered at her own inside joke before going over to a computer. "Now these are very unusual readings. They are showing all kinds of energy. This place is humming. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?"

Lynda shrugged. "I don't know. I think we're the first ever contestants to get outside."

"I was travelling with three friends. They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?" Romana soniced the computer.

"I don't know. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."

"Like what?"

"Well, there's ten floors of Big Brother. There's a different house behind each of those doors and beyond that, there's all sorts of shows. It's non stop. There's Call My Bluff with real guns. Countdown, where you've got thirty seconds to stop the bomb going off. Ground Force, which is a nasty one. You get turned into compost. Er, Wipeout, speaks for itself. Oh and Stars in Their Eyes, literally, Stars in their eyes. If you don't sing, you get blinded." Romana replied.

"And you watch this stuff?" Romana shook her head. This sounded horrible! Though she couldn't complain. Back in the old days of Gallifrey they had the Death Zone which was thankfully banned by the time she was born. Though she remembered the Doctor being caught up with it and his other regenerations...She remembered her second self and his fourth self getting stuck in the Matrix when that happened.

Lynda nodded. "Everyone does. How come you don't?"

"Never paid for my licence." Romana grinned, still typing away on the computer.

"Oh my god! You get executed for that!" Lynda covered her mouth with her hands.

"Ha! The amount of times I've heard people say I'm going to be executed is unbelievable."

"You keep saying things that don't make sense. Who are you though, Romana, really?" Lynda asked.

"It doesn't matter." Romana replied.

"Well it does to me. I've just put my life in your hands." Lynda looked at her sternly.

Romana sighed. "I'm just a traveller, wandering past. Believe it or not, I'm trying to settle down for a quiet life. But that doesn't seem to happen."

Lynda smiled. "So if we get out of here, what're you going to do? Just wander off again?"

Romana nodded. "Fast as I can."

"So, could I come with you?" Lynda asked, sounding hopeful.

"Maybe you could."

"I wouldn't get in the way."

"I wouldn't mind if you did. Not a bad idea, Lynda with a Y. But first of all, we've got to concentrate on getting out and to do that, we got to know our enemy. Who's controlling it? Who's in charge of the satellite now?" Romana asked.

"Hold on." Lynda told her and she spotted a light and turned it on and above them in big bold letters was the word Bad Wolf Corporation. "Your lords and masters."

* * *

After Braxiatel and Jack got changed, Braxiatel was now dressed in a smart black jacket and black shirt, the top few buttons undone and black leather pants. Jack was dressed in casual gear, similar to what he arrived in. Already, Braxiatel missed his robes and he shook his head as he and Jack took apart the two defabricators, Braxiatel sonicing his. He was thankful he finished making his sonic screwdriver. "Compatible systems. Just align the wave signature." He grinned." There we go! Got ourselves some weapons!" He put the strap of the defabricator around his neck as did Jack.

Jack looked over to the broken robots. "Well ladies, pleasure been all ours. Which is the only thing that matters in the end." Braxiatel shook his head as they both left the room.

* * *

Romana and Lynda walked onto what appeared to be an observation deck that overlooked the Earth. Lynda gasped in awe. "Blimey! I've never seen it for real before. Not from orbit. Planet Earth."

Romana looked at it with horror. What the hell happened to Earth? "What happened to it?" The Earth looked like it was sick.

"Well it's always been like that ever since I was born." Lynda replied before pointing something on the Earth. "See that there? That's the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It's been going twenty years. We get newsflashes telling us when it's safe to breath outside."

Romana sneered slightly. "So the population just sits there? Half the world's too fat and half the world too thin and you just watch telly?"

Lynda nodded. "Ten thousand channels, all beaming down from here."

Romana shook her head with disgust. "The Human Race. Brainless sheep being fed on a diet. Mind you," She looked at Lynda. "Have they still got that programme where three people have to live with a bear?"

"Oh, bear with me! I love that one!" Lynda nodded.

"The celebrity edition where the bear got in the bath."

"Got in the bath!" Lynda grinned.

Romana sighed. "But this is all wrong. History has gone wrong again. This should be the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. I don't understand. Last time I was here myself and my friends put a stop to it."

"But but that's when it first went wrong. A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight."

Romana's eyes widened. "But that was me, I did that." Has she just destroyed the human race without realizing?

Lynda shrugged. "There was nothing left in their place. No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it. One hundred years of hell." She sighed, looking at the Earth.

Romana stepped back a bit, realizing what she had done. "Oh my, I made this world." She gripped onto the walls, her knuckles turning white.

Just then a door to their right opened and Jack and Braxiatel walked in. Romana ran to hug Braxiatel and he hugged her back, slightly surprised at the warm welcome before she ran to hug Jack.

"Hey there beautiful, good to see you." Jack commented.

Romana looked at them. "Nice clothes." She smirked at Braxiatel and Braxiatel huffed.

"Any sign of Rose?" Jack asked, walking over to the computer.

Romana shook her head. "Nope, I've tried but I can't you track her down."

"She must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded." Jack replied.

"Let me do the computer. I can get inside it and find her." Braxiatel replied and he walked up to the computer, moving his gun slightly so he could work on it.

"Better hurry up. These games don't have a happy ending." Jack warned and he noticed Romana admiring Braxiatel in his new clothes and Jack gave a slight grin.

"Don't you think I know that?" Romana replied, not taking her eyes of Braxiatel. Eyeing him and Romana shook her head, now was not the time and place.

Jack gave his wrist strap to Braxiatel. "There you go, patch that in. Programme it in to find her."

He nodded. "Thanks."

Jack walked over to Lynda, grinning. "Hey there."

"Hello." She replied, somewhat shyly.

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack held out his hand and Lynda shook it.

"Lynda Moss." Lynda smiled brightly.

"Nice to meet you Lynda Moss." He sent her a wink.

Romana rolled her eyes. "Do you mind flirting outside?"

"I was just saying hello!"

"For you, that's flirting." Braxiatel replied without looking up from the computer.

"Hey I put up with you and Romana flirting." Jack protested.

Romana looked at him, startled. "We do not flirt! Thank you!"

Jack scoffed. "Haven't you seen yourselves? You're basically married."

"I'm not complaining." Lynda interrupted them, blushing slightly.

"Muchas gracias." Jack winked.

"Urgh, this stupid system not making any sense." Braxiatel complained and he kicked the console. Jack took off the front plate. "This place should be a basic broadcaster but the systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television. This station's transmitting something else."

"Like what?" Jack frowned, growing slightly worried.

Braxiatel shrugged. "I don't know. This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with Romana and I. Someone's manipulated our entire lives. It's some sort of trap and Rose is stuck inside it." He worked on the computer again, this time with the help of Romana.

"Found her! Floor 407." Romana replied.

Lynda gasped with horror. "Oh my god, she's with the Anne Droid! You've got to get her out of there!"

The four of them headed to the nearest lift, Jack and Braxiatel loading up their newly made weapons.

Romana looking nervous. "Come on, come on!" The door finally opened onto floor 407 and they ran out. "Game Room six! Which one is it?" She asked Lynda.

Lynda walked over to a door. "Over here!" She called and they all rushed to it.

"Stand back! Let me blast it open!" Jack warned, aiming his weapon at the door.

"You can't. It's made of Hydra combination." Braxiatel told him, pointing down Jack's gun and he and Romana got out their sonic screwdrivers. Two sonic's worked better than one.

"But I'm not meant to be here! I need to find Romana and Braxiatel! They got to be here somewhere, they always here! They wouldn't just leave me!" They heard Rose shout in fear on the other side.

"Rodrick, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with one thousand six hundred credits."

"Oh thank you, thank you so much." Rodrik cheered.

"This game is illegal! I'm telling you to stop!" Rose shouted and the time-lords finally managed to break through the door and Romana sprinted through the room.

"Rose!" Romana shouted. "Stop this game right now!"

"Rose, you leave this life with nothing." The Anne Droid told her.

"Stop this game!" Braxiatel demanded and he and Jack pointed their guns at the people on the floor.

"I order you to stop this game!" Romana ran but she was still to far away from Rose and the Anne droid.

Rose began to ran over to her. "Look out for the Anne Droid, it's armed!"The moment she said it, the Anne Droid shot Rose just as she reached Romana and a pile of dust was left on the floor at where Rose once stood. Romana stopped right next to it, staring at the dust with horror.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Jack yelled angrily at the Anne droid. And he pointed his gun but was quickly dragged away by a security guard as well as Lynda.

Romana crouched down in front of the dust, touching it. Not believing what happened. Braxiatel walked up next to her, glaring at everyone who dare came up to them.

"Don't you dare touch her! Leave her alone!" Braxiatel snarled but a security guard dragged him away as well as Romana. Romana remaining silent and she tried to block out the noise. Rose...she couldn't be dead. She killed her. She killed her first companion for the second time.

"Sir, put down that gun or I'll have to shoot!" A guard shouted at Braxiatel and Jack.

The men both sneered at them. "You killed her! Your stupid freaking game show killed her!" Jack yelled as he and Braxiatel both struggled.

"Gentlemen, Ma'am, I'm arresting you under Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate." They dragged Romana out, Romana remaining silent as she was lost in her thoughts about Rose as well as trying to form a plan to get out of here.

The guards dragged the four of them inside a cell and they rummaged through their pockets, taking Romana's and Braxiatel sonic's away from them. "Could you tell us the purpose of this device ma'am? Sir? Can you tell us how you got on bored?" The guard asked Romana.

Romana ignored him, numb from losing Rose. She lost so much all ready...too many. She couldn't bear to lose anymore.

"Just leave her alone." Lynda glared at the guard.

The guard ignored her. "I'm asking her. Ma'am? Can you tell us who you are?"

Mug shots were taken of Romana, both at the front and from each side. Romana staring blankly at the wall in front of her before they shoved her in a cell with Braxiatel, Jack and Lynda. "You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony, there to be held without trial. You may not appeal against this sentence. Is that understood?" Nobody answered and a guard unlocked the cage to let his colleague out.

Romana sharply turned her head to Braxiatel and Jack and Lynda. "Let's do it." Jack took the lead fight followed by Braxiatel and Romana who helped to knock the guards out and Jack and Braxiatel reclaimed their defabricators whilst Romana chucked Braxiatel his sonic screwdriver and reclaimed hers. Lynda took the guards weapons.

Romana made her way to the lift, fury in her eyes. "Floor 500." She said and they all got into the lift.

Jack and Braxiatel and Lynda loaded their guns and a few seconds the lift arrived on floor 500 and Jack and Braxiatel entered first. "Okay, move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever." Jack shouted.

"Everybody clear! Stand to the side and stay there. Move it!" Braxiatel snarled and the humans quickly obeyed, moving to one side.

Romana strolled in front. "Who's in charge of this place?"

"Nineteen, eighteen." A woman attached to some wires called out.

"This satellite's more than a game station." She paced up and down angrily, glaring at the humans. "Who killed Rose Tyler?"

"All staff are reminded that the solar flares-" The controller began.

"I want an answer and I want it now!" Romana yelled and silence fell upon the hall. The humans winced as they noticed her fury. Romana not caring if she sounded like a spoilt child, she turned to face the controller.

The controller broke the silence. "Occur in delta point one."

"She can't reply. Don't shoot!" A man squeaked in fear as Braxiatel raised his gun at him.

Braxiatel sneered. "Don't be so gullible. Like I was ever going to shoot you." Braxiatel threw his weapon at the human who caught it, looking stunned.

"Captain, Braxiatel, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits." Romana demanded.

"Yes ma'am." Both of them replied and they both ran of to secure the exits.

Romana read the man's name badge which said Pavale. "You, Pavale." She pointed at him. What were you saying?"

"But I got his gun." Pavale replied, terrified.

Romana rolled her eyes, growing angrier by the minute. "Okay, so shoot us. Why can't she answer?"

Pavale swallowed. "She's er, can I put this down?"

"If you want. Be swift about it."

Pavale nodded and put down the gun before walking up next to Romana to look at the controller. "Thanks. Sorry. The Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not a member of staff so she doesn't recognise your existence."

"What's her name?" Romana asked as she looked at the woman before her.

Pavale shrugged. "I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."

"Door's sealed. We should be safe for about ten minutes or so." Braxiatel told Romana as he put his sonic back in his pocket.

"Keep an eye on them." Romana replied.

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station, I think you're right. I've kept a log, unauthorised transmats, encrypted signals, it's being going on for years." Pavale explained.

"Show me." Romana demanded and Pavale took her to a computer.

Jack and Braxiatel walked over to Archive six, guns in hands and a woman glared at them. "You're not allowed in there. Archive Six is out of bounds." She told them.

Braxiatel held up his gun at her. "Do we look like we really going to listen to you?" Jack managed to get the door open and both of them grinned when they saw the TARDIS and both entered before Braxiatel typed in something in on the screen.

He swore in high Gallifreyan. Jack walked over to him. "What is it?"

"Look at the screen," He replied and he ran out.

"What the hell." Jack looked at it with horror and quickly studied it and ran out after Braxiatel.

"Solar flare activity in delta point zero fifteen-" The controller began.

"If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out. The staff are terrified." The same woman who told of Jack spoke to Romana.

"That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day." Romana snapped.

The woman winced. "That's not our fault. We're just doing our jobs." The woman protested.

"And with that sentence you just lost the right to even talk to me. Now back off before I will do something I will regret!" Romana snapped her teeth at her, looking very frightening and the woman gulped before doing as she was told to.

Suddenly the power dropped. "That's just the solar flares. They interfere with the broadcast signal so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal." Pavale explained.

"Doctor." The controller spoke and Romana snapped her head towards the controller, her eyes widening.

"Doctor? Romana? Where's the Doctor?" The controller asked.

Romana walked up to her. "The Doctor is dead. I'm here though." How could this human know who her dear old friend was?

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I can see you two."

Romana craned her neck to look at her. "What do you want?"

"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My masters, they always listen but they can't hear me now, the sun, the sun is so bright." The controller spoke.

"Who are your masters?" Romana asked.

"They wired my head. The name's forbidden. They control my thoughts. My masters. My masters, I had to be careful. They monitor transmissions but they don't watch the programmes, I could hide you inside the games. Knew that you would find me."

Romana glowered at her. "My friend died inside your stupid little games!"

"Doesn't matter."

Romana snarled, her temper getting the better of her. "Don't you dare tell me that!"

"They've been hiding. My masters hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth so, so many years. Always been there, guiding humanity, hundreds and hundreds of years." The controller ignored her temper.

"Who are they?!" Romana pressed.

"They wait and plan and grow in numbers. They're strong now. So strong, my masters. But speak of you, my masters. They fear you and The Doctor."

"Tell me, who are they?!" Romana shouted, fear running in her veins but the power came back on.

"Twenty one, twenty two-" The controller began to speak in numbers.

Romana rounded on Pavale. "When's the next solar flare?"

Pavale typed something on the computer before looking at Romana. "Two years time."

Romana scoffed. "What a load of rubbish!"

Braxiatel jogged up next to Romana, Jack at his lead. "Found the TARDIS."

"We're not leaving now." Romana told him.

Braxiatel shook his head. "No, but the TARDIS worked it out. You just got to watch this." Braxiatel moved towards Lynda. "Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?" He pointed to an empty space nearby the controller.

"I just want to go home." She told him nervously.

"It'll only take a second. Could you stand in that spot as quick as you can. Everybody watching?" He gave his gun to Jack before heading over to the computer. "Okay, three, two, one." He pressed a switch and a beam came down and Lynda vanished in a puff of smoke.

Romana looked at Braxiatel angrily. "You killed her Braxiatel!"

Braxiatel smirked. "Oh, you think?" He pressed another switch and another beam came down and Lynda appeared.

Lynda was unsteady on her feet for a few seconds and she blinked rapidly before looking at Braxiatel. "What the hell was that?" Lynda asked and she jogged over to them.

"It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator but a secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games, they get transported across space. Romana, Rose is still alive!" Braxiatel told her and Romana smiled at that, hope still in her and she wrapped Braxiatel in a warm embrace before kissing his neck slightly and letting him go, leaving Braxiatel slightly stunned at Romana's movement and he looked over at Jack who merely sent him a cheeky wink.

Romana went to a nearby computer. "That must mean she's out there somewhere."

"Romana. Coordinates five point six point one-" The controller told her quickly and Romana typed them up before looking at her.

"Don't, the solar flare's gone. They'll hear you." She warned.

"Point four three four. No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma seven seven-argh!" The controller disappeared in a puff of smoke, her screaming echoing in their ears.

"They took her." Braxiatel shook his head.

Pavale came up with a large book and sat down next to Jack. "Look, use that. It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."

"Nice, thanks. Captain Jack Harkness by the way." He and Pavale shook hands.

"I'm Davitch Pavale." Pavale replied.

Jack smirked. "Nice to meet you Davitch Pavale."

Braxiatel looked at Jack, slightly amused. "There is a time and a place Jack."

The same woman who Romana told to back of walked up to them, feeling that Romana had calmed down. "Are you saying this entire set up's been a disguise all along?" She asked.

Romana nodded, typing away at the computer. "It's been going way back. Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game, controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations."

Braxiatel took over Romana on the computer. "Click on this. The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system."

The woman shrugged. "There's nothing there."

"It may look like there's nothing because that's what this satellite does. Underneath the transmission there's another signal." Braxiatel replied.

Pavale frowned. "Doing what?"

"Hiding. Hiding it from sonar, radar, a scanner, anything. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth but it's completely invisible. But if I cancel the signal..." He pressed another button and he and Romana looked at the screen in horror, Braxiatel moving slightly back from the screen.

Romana shaking her head before spitting at the screen. Jack looked at the screen with wide eyes, not believing what he was seeing. "That's impossible. I know those ships. They were destroyed."

"Obviously they survived. They always survive. I destroyed them. I seen it with my own eyes." Romana snarled and Braxiatel snarled too. Why is it that they get to lose everything but yet the Daleks always keep on surviving? It just wasn't fair.

"Who did? Who are they?" Lynda asked, concerned.

"No doubt there's half a million of them in there." Romana told Braxiatel darkly and Braxiatel nodded, clenching his jaw and he shook with anger.

"Half a million of what?"

"Daleks." Romana spat when suddenly there was a holo-viewscreen pop into view with the Daleks on. Braxiatel and Romana walked up to talk to them.

"I will talk to the Doctor!" The Dalek demanded.

"Oh will you? You can't because he's dead! You finally destroyed the Oncoming Storm at last!" Braxiatel snarled.

"Then I will talk to Romana."

"You will talk to me and Braxiatel or don't even talk to us." Romana held her head high.

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene."

Romana scoffed. "Oh really? Why is that then?"

"We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated!" The Dalek nudged Rose forwards.

Romana glared at the Daleks darkly. "No."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Romana, horrified.

"Explain yourself!"

"She said no." Braxiatel smirked. "Your enemy, Romanavortelunder once President of Gallifrey with me, as Irving Braxiatel the brother of the oncoming storm, both say no."

The Daleks moved back. "What is the meaning of this negative?"

Romana stepped beside Braxiatel. "It' means no."

"But she will be destroyed!"

"No!" Romana yelled, making the humans wince. "Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her, I'm going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet and then, I'm going to save the Earth and then, just to finish off, myself and Braxiatel are going to wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!"

"But you have no weapons, no defences, no plans!" The Daleks reminded her.

Romana laughed darkly. "Yeah and doesn't that scare you?" She turned to look at Rose. "Rose?"

"Yes Romana?" She looked hopeful.

"We're coming to get you." Romana ended the transmission with the sonic screwdriver.


	23. The Parting Of Ways Part 1

Romana, Braxiatel and Jack dashed back towards the TARDIS once they ended their conversation with the Daleks. Romana and Braxiatel working furiously at the consoles as the TARDIS flew towards the Daleks spaceship and Jack looked at the screen.

"We've got incoming!" He shouted and he watched as the Dalek missiles hit the TARDIS but the TARDIS defences protected them, leaving them unharmed. He had to admit, he was very impressed with the TARDIS defenses. "The extrapolator's working. We've got a fully functional forcefield. Try saying that when you're drunk."

"Now for our next trick!" Romana shouted and she pulled down a lever, her and Braxiatel moving around the console and the TARDIS materialised around Rose and the nearest Dalek. "Rose! Get down now!"

Rose ducked down and Romana aimed Braxiatel's gun at the Dalek. "Exterminate!" The Dalek cried and fired at Romana but missed. Romana took out the Dalek with Braxiatel's defabricator, blowing it up in half.

"You did it." Rose breathed and she got up, running to hug Romana. "Feels like I haven't seen you all in years."

"Told you I would come and get you." Romana smiled, happy to have her friend back.

"Never doubted it." Rose grinned.

"You all right?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, you?"

"Had better days." Romana admitted.

"Hey, don't we get a hug?" Jack called indicating to him and Braxiatel. Rose looked over and grinned at them both.

"Oh come here!" Rose hugged Jack and she hugged Braxiatel, hugging him just a little bit longer. "I thought I'd never see the pair of you again. Nice outfit Braxiatel.

"Oh you were lucky. That was just a one shot wonder. Drained the gun of all it's power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk. Luckily, we've got one more left." Jack grinned.

Rose looked over at Romana and Braxiatel. "You said they were extinct. How come they're still alive?"

Jack nodded. "One minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space."

Braxiatel stood next to Romana. "They went off to fight a bigger war. The Time War." Both Time-Lords looked grim.

"I thought that was just a legend." Jack frowned. He heard rumours back in the Time Agency but they all thought it was just a rumour. Nothing more. To be honest, everyone was thankful that they disappeared until now.

"We were both there. Romana acted out as President during the first half before she got took over by a mad man who turned out to be nothing but a hypocrite. The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords with the whole of creation at stake. Our people were destroyed but they took the Daleks with them." Braxiatel explained. "Or so we thought."

Romana sighed. "I almost thought it was worth it. Now our people died for nothing."

"There's thousands of them. We could hardly stop one. What're we going to do?" Rose asked.

"No good standing around here that's for sure. The Daleks have got the answers so let's go and meet the neighbours." Romana replied and she and Braxiatel made their way out of the door.

"You can't go out there!" Rose cried but followed after them with Jack.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Daleks cried and the Dalek rays were stopped by the TARDIS forcefield and Romana smirked.

"Ha! Is that it? Useless! The Daleks that failed to exterminate us! This forcefield can hold back _anything._" Romana opened her arms before patting the TARDIS.

"Almost anything." Jack pointed out.

Braxiatel glared at him. "Yes but we weren't going to mention that."

Jack winced. "Sorry."

Braxiatel turned to the Daleks. "Do you know what they used to call my brother in the ancient legends of the Dalek homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left and that's fear." Braxiatel smirked. "Doesn't it just burn when you see Romana and hear that I am related to the Doctor?"

The Daleks moved back a little bit and Romana looked at them. "Tell us this, how did you survive the Time War?" The Time War was all for nothing, she realized that now.

"They survived through me!" A loud voice called and lights came up to reveal a gigantic Dalek, it's casing open to reveal a blue-skinned one eye-mutant, sitting on it's throne.

"_It's him! But I thought I destroyed him!" _Romana communicated to Braxiatel.

"_They always survive. No matter what."_

Romana turned to face it, trying her best to cover up her emotions. "Rose, Captain, this is the Emperor of the Daleks."

"You destroyed us Romana! The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive."

"We get it." Braxiatel glowered.

"Do not interrupt!" A Dalek called.

"Do not interrupt!

"Do not interrupt!" All the Daleks in the room chanted.

Romana laughed. "I think you're forgetting something here. I'm Romanavoratrelundar from House Heartshaven and if there is one thing I've learnt about being President it's that's being able to talk. I've got five billion languages and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So, if anybody's going to shut up it's you lot!" She shouted and the Daleks that surrounded them moved back in fear and she looked at them mockingly before looking back at the emperor. "Where were we?"

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed. They all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

Braxiatel shook his head, looking disgusted. He thought the Daleks couldn't get any sicker than this. Obviously he thought wrong. "So you created an army of Daleks out of the Dead. That makes _you _lot half human."

"Those words are blasphemy!" The Emperor declared, almost outraged at the statement that he made.

"Do not blaspheme!" One Dalek cried.

"Do not blaspheme!" One by one they all chanted the same words.

"Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek." The Emperor spoke.

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" Romana asked, since when did they have a concept of anything?

"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am God of all Daleks!" The Emperor replied.

"Worship him. Worship him. Worship him!"

Romana observed at them before looking at the emperor. She always knew the Daleks were insane, ever since she travelled with the Doctor. But nothing in all her travels could compare to this. Even during her time when she was enslaved by them for twenty years. "They're insane. Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad but oh, it's completely worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh! The stink of humanity." Romana glared at him. "You hate your own existence and that makes them more deadlier than ever. Nice talking to you but we are leaving."

"You may not leave my presence!" The Emperor shouted but they all ignored him and went inside the TARDIS.

"Stay where you are! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The army of Daleks cried and Romana closed the doors on them, and Romana leant her head against the doors, closing her eyes as she heard the Daleks shooting at the forcefield once again. She thought she had seen enough of them but obviously she thought wrong. She lost so much to the Daleks all ready and it was time to take her vengeance.

The Daleks have gone completely insane, She thought before she and Braxiatel hurriedly parked the TARDIS back on the Game Station.

"_Romana, are you okay?" _Braxiatel asked her silently, as they worked together.

"_To be honest with you, no. Is the war and everything we done for all for nothing?"_

"_No. Don't think like that Romana! We will destroy these Daleks and we will end this stinking Time __War once and for all! Our people did not die for nothing."_

Romana nodded and they ran out to Pavale and the others. "Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open. Do it now!" Romana ordered as she strolled through the room.

Pavale looked up. "What does this do?"

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board. How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?" Romana asked.

"Well, we tried to warn them but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes." Pavale shrugged.

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless yet again." Romana shook her head before turning to Lynda. "Lynda, what are you still doing on board? I told you to evacuate everyone."

"I didn't want to leave you." Lynda told her.

The woman that Romana got into a heated argument with earlier walked up to them. "There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here. We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero." She told them.

Pavale looked at the computer, his eyes widening. "Oh my god, the fleet is moving. They're on their way."

Romana ran to the conduits, Braxiatel on her heels and together the two time-lords began to pull bits out of it. "Right, we need a Dalek plan. We have a great big transmitter and it's this station. So, if myself and Braxiatel can change the signal, fold it back and sequence it what have we got? Anyone?" Romana asked as she and Braxiatel hurriedly began to pull wires.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jack walked over to them, realizing what they were about to do.

"Give the man a medal!" Braxiatel replied sarcastically.

"You're not seriously going to be making a delta wave are you?" Jack asked.

Rose frowned. "What's a Delta wave?"

Jack turned to her. "A wave of Van Cassadyne energy. It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbecued."

"We've got the perfect place for it because this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the whole stinking Daleks!"

"Well, get started and do it then." Lynda supplied.

"We have a problem. With a wave this size, building this big and with brains as clever as mine and Braxiatel's it should take about, oh, two days?" Romana looked up at Pavale. "How long till the Fleet arrive?"

Pavale looked at his computer before looking back at the two time-lords. "Twenty two minutes."

* * *

A little while later, Jack came back over them one of the remaining defabricators around his neck. "We've now got a forcefield so they can't blast us out of the sky but that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading."

"Do they know about the Delta Wave?" Pavale asked.

"They'll have worked it out at the same time so they want to stop Romana and Braxiatel. That means they've got to get to this level of this ship, 500. Now I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, 500 to 494. So they'll penetrate the station below that at level 409 and fight their way up."

Romana sighed. "Knowing the Daleks and their bloodlust, I have a feeling the Daleks will start from the bottom and make their way up."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When I was enslaved for them for twenty years, they did something similar. They attacked a space station and their main target was at the top but still they came in from the bottom and exterminated everyone in their sight." She closed her eyes briefly, remembering the painful years. "The Daleks will exterminate anyone and everyone, no matter what."

Braxiatel glanced at them, fixing some wires. "She's right. We've seen it happen too many times."

"Can't we try?"

"You can try but I doubt it'll do much." Romana replied, putting her sonic in her hands.

"Who are they fighting?" Pavale asked.

"Us."

"And what are we fighting with?" Pavale raised an eyebrow. They haven't got any weapons and arm to arm combat with these monsters were useless.

"The guards had guns with bastic bullets. That's enough to blow a Dalek wide open. Plus I've got this," Jack kissed the defabricator.

"There's five of us." The woman commented.

"Rose, you can help myself and Braxiatel. We need all these wires stripping bare." Romana told Rose who stood near here. Rose went to help and began to stripe the wires.

The woman sighed. "Right, now there's four of us."

"Then let's move it. Into the lift. Isolate the lift controls." Jack told them and Pavale and the woman ran off.

Lynda moved forwards to speak with Romana, Romana still crouching on the floor. "I just want to say, er, thanks, I suppose and I'll do my best."

"Me too." They both smiled at each other and shook hands and Lynda moved away before Jack walked up to them.

"It's been fun but I guess this is goodbye."

Rose looked at him. "Don't talk like that, Romana and Braxiatel are going to do it. You just watch them."

Jack smiled at her, even in these times she still had hope. "Rose, you are worth fighting for." He kissed her on the lips before turning to Romana and Braxiatel. "Mr and Mrs Smith, wish I'd never met you. I was much better off as a coward." He tackled them into a bear hug before kissing them both on the mouth and Braxiatel pretended to look disgusted but failed and they both smiled lightly before Jack got up. "See you in hell." He saluted them and ran off.

Rose looked at where Jack once stood before going back to helping Romana. "He's going to be all right isn't he?" She asked and the two time lords looked each other before going back to their work, neither one replying. Both knowing the exact answer.

* * *

Down on floor zero, Jack stood on a pile of crates before he fired a machine gun into the air to get some attention. The room became silent. "One last time! Any more volunteers? There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to mount a defence."

Rodrick rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to him. There aren't any Daleks. They disappeared thousands of years ago."

The floor manager that was on Rose's level went towards Jack. Jack nodded at her. "Thanks. As for the rest of you, the Daleks will enter at floor 494 but still they will head down and then they will head up. So here's a few words of advice, keep quiet and hide. If you hear fighting up above and hear us dying if you're still alive, then tell me that the Daleks aren't real. Now, don't make a sound and go and hide for your lives." He turned to his group of volunteers. "Let's go."

* * *

"Suppose..." Rose began but then shook her head as she helped Braxiatel with some wires.

"What?" Romana asked, brushing her hair out of her way before sonicing some metal together.

"Nothing."

"You said suppose." Braxiatel reminded her.

"No, I was just thinking. I mean obviously we can't but you two got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn them?"

Braxiatel shook his head. "Doesn't work like that. As soon as the TARDIS lands in that second, we'll become part of the events and get stuck in the timeline."

Rose nodded. "Yeah, thought it'd be something like that."

Romana frowned. "There's another thing the TARDIS could do. It could take us away and we could leave. Let history takes it course for once. Go to Marbella in 1989."

"You would never do that Romana." Braxiatel reprehended her. "You would never stand by and watch this happen. Has travelling with my brother or being President taught you nothing?" Romana looked guilty.

Rose nodded. "He's right. I know you Romana, you could never do that."

"No but you could ask. Never even occurred to you did it?"

"Well, I'm just too good." Rose shrugged.

Romana stood up, stretching her legs a little bit. "The Delta Wave's started building, how long does it need?" She went over to a console, Rose at her heels as Braxiatel worked on the Delta Wave.

"Is it that bad?" Rose peered at the screen. "Okay, it's bad. How bad is it?"

Romana turned to her. "Rose Tyler, you're a genius! We can do it. If I use the TARDIS to cross my old timeline, yes!" She ran back to the TARDIS and she blocked out Braxiatel's protests in her mind as she went, Rose at her heels.

They went into the TARDIS and Romana pointed Rose to a button on the console. "Hold that down and keep position." She told her.

"What's it do?"

"Cancels the buffers. Now then, I'm going to be very clever, wait I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant. I might just save the world or rip it apart." Romana grinned madly at her.

"I'd go for the first one." Rose replied, smiling.

"Me too. Now, I've just got to go and power up the Game Station and get Braxiatel. Hold on!" Romana ran out and stopped in the midst of hers and Braxiatel nest of cables, looking mournful at Braxiatel who gave her a curt nod, seeing what she was about to do. Romana turned back to the TARDIS and pointed her sonic screwdriver at it and she heard the engines start, the doors closing.

"Romana, what''re you doing? Can I take my hand off? It's moving." Romana heard Rose shout in despair and Romana moved to Braxiatel. "Romana let me out!" They heard her cry.

"I had too." Romana whispered, looking down.

Braxiatel nodded. "It's for her safety. My brother would have been proud of you." He squeezed her shoulders in a comforting manner. Romana sniffed slightly before getting back to work.

* * *

Back in the TARDIS where it was in flight, Rose was banging at the TARDIS doors when a hologram of Romana appeared. She stopped to look at her. "This is Emergency Programme One. Rose, listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can mean one thing and it means that our lives are in mortal danger. I mean actually in danger. I'm either dead or about to die and Braxiatel could be severely wounded with no chance of escape."

"No!" Rose shouted, looking at the hologram.

"That's okay because I hope it's a good death. It's about time I got to see my family and friends again, I have missed them terribly. But I did promise to look after you and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home."

Rose walked up closer to the hologram. "I won't let you."

"I bet you're being stroppy and moaning like a spoilt child right now. But that's what you humans are good at. But hold on and just listen to me now. The Doctor's TARDIS can never return for me now. Then again it was never mine to begin with. Emergency Programme One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do and I want you to obey this order. Let the Doctor's TARDIS die so it can rejoin her sisters and true owner. Just let this daft old box gather dust. No one can open it and no one will ever notice. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner and over the years, the world will move one and the TARDIS will be buried and if you want to remember me or Braxiatel then you can do one thing for us. I only have one last request to ask of you." The hologram Romana looked at Rose. "Have a fantastic life. Do that for us Rose, have a brilliant, fantastic life." The hologram flickered out.

"You can't do this to me! You can't!" Rose cried, running over to the consoles and pressing random buttons. "Take me back! Take me back! No!" She tried to use the engines but the TARDIS landed gently and the engines stopped and she ran out, hoping to see Romana and Braxiatel but instead, she saw the Powell Estate and ran back inside. "Come on, fly! How do you fly? Do you not see them in danger? Come on, help me!" Rose cried.

Finally, Rose gave up. The TARDIS was refusing to budge and even help her and that's when she noticed the gentle humming of the TARDIS had stopped. She slowly went outside, her head hung low and Mickey came running down the road, seeing Rose lean against the TARDIS.

"I knew it!" Mickey panted once he ran to her. "I was all the way down Clifton Parade and I heard the engines. I thought, there's only one thing that makes a noise like that. What is it?" Rose burst into tears and hugs him, not saying anything.


	24. Parting Of Ways Part 2

Back on Floor 500, Braxiatel and Romana were working quickly on the delta wave. Romana had put her hair up in a high pony tail so it would not get in the way and both Romana and Braxiatel felt even more lonelier than ever without their TARDIS.

"It was the right thing to do." Romana told herself firmly, trying to ignore the guilt welling up inside her. "It's for her safety. I did promise her mother after all."

"Don't blame yourself for it Romana. She was only human and young, she wouldn't be able to survive this."

"Are you saying we can?" Romana looked at him.

"I doubt it this time but I rather like to live a little longer thank you." Braxiatel replied.

Suddenly, Jack appeared online through the a view screen. "Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen. Can you read them out to me?"

"She's not here." Braxiatel told Jack.

"Of all the times to take a leak." Jack grumbled. "When she gets back, tell her to read me the codes."

"She's not coming back." Romana told him, more sternly than Braxiatel.

"What do you mean? Where'd she go?" Jack asked.

"Get back to your work."

"You took her home didn't you?"

Romana nodded. "I did. For her safety."

There was a slight pause, Jack running this over in his mind. "The Delta Wave. Is it ever going to be ready?"

Suddenly the view screen appeared again, this time showing the Dalek Emperor. "Tell him, Lady Romana and Lord Braxiatel. There is every possibility the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path with no distinction between human and Dalek. All things will die by both of your hands."

"Romana, Braxiatel, the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth." Jack told them.

"You would destroy Daleks and Humans together. If I am God, the creator of all things, than what does this make you, Timelords?"

Romana glared at the Emperor darkly. "The human race would survive. They always survive but you're the only Daleks in existence. The whole Universe is in danger if we let you live. Do you see Jack? That's the decision we've got to make for every living being. Die as a human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?"

There was a slight pause. "You sent her home. She's safe. Keep working." He told her.

"But they will exterminate you!" The Emperor cried, not understanding how Jack could have so much faith in them.

"Never doubted them." Jack replied. "Never will."

Braxiatel stood up and turned to face the emperor. "Now, tell me God of all Daleks, there's one thing that Romana or I never worked out. The words Bad Wolf, spread across time and space, everywhere drawing me in. How did you manage that?"

"I did nothing."

Romana barked out a harsh laugh. "Oh of course you would say that." She shook her head. "You might as well tell us. You got nothing to lose."

"They are not part of my design. This is the Truth of God." The Emperor told them and both Time Lords looked up to see the Bad Wolf corporation sign on the wall, looking at it with uneasiness. If the Daleks didn't create the Bad Wolf sign, then who did?

* * *

Back on Earth, Mickey, Jackie and Rose were sat in a cafe. Chips laid out in front of them but Rose wasn't hungry. Mickey and Jackie were talking idle.

Jackie noticed Rose not saying anything and looked at her untouched food. She sighed. She was worried for her daughter but Romana did the right thing, sending her only daughter back to Earth. "Oh Rose, have something to eat."

Rose rested her head on her hands, gazing out of the window. "Two hundred thousand years in the future and they're dying and there's nothing I can do."

"Well, like you said two hundred thousand years. It's way off." Jackie replied. It wasn't happening right now was it?

Rose glanced at her,

* * *

tear stains down her face. "But it's not. It's now. That fight is happening right now and Romana and Braxiatel are fighting for us, for the whole planet and I'm just siting here eating chips!"

Jackie put her hand on her daughter's. "Listen to me. God knows I have hated that woman and I have never met this Braxiatel bloke but right now I love her and do you know why? Because she did the right thing. She sent you back to me."

"But what do I do every day mum? What do I do? Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home eat chips and go to bed? Is that it?" Rose looked at her disbelievingly.

"It's what the rest of us do." Mickey replied, sounding somewhat hurt.

"But I can't!"

Mickey glanced at her. "Why, because you're better than us?"

Rose sighed. "No, I didn't mean that. But it was. It was a better life. And I don't mean all the travelling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things. That don't matter. Romana showed me a better way of living your life. You know she and Braxiatel showed you too. That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand." She banged the table. "You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away and I just can't." Rose ran out of the cafe, sobbing.

* * *

Back on the the Games Station, Jack was leading Lynda to an observation deck. "Right, Lynda, you are my eyes and ears. When the Daleks get in, you can follow it on that screen and report it to me." Jack pointed to the same computer that Romana was using to track Rose down earlier.

Lynda nodded, walking up to it. "Understood."

"They'll detect you but the door's made of Hydra Combination. It should keep them out."

Lynda raised an eyebrow. She knew that if the Daleks got in, she wouldn't survive. "Should?"

"It's the best I can do." He put a hand on her shoulder before walking out and connecting to Pavale on his comm. "How long till the Fleet arrives?"

"They've accelerated." Pavale replied.

Jack nodded, marching back up to them. "This is it, ladies and gentlemen, we are at war!" He loaded Braxiatel's defabricator.

* * *

Mickey ran out after her and the pair of them walked around Powell Estate park. Rose putting her hands in her pockets before they sat on a bench. "You can't spend the rest of your life thinking about Romana or Braxiatel."

"But how do I forget them?" Rose asked. She would never forget the Time Lords that changed her life. More importantly, the Time Lady.

"You've got to start living your own life. You know, a proper life, like the kind they never got the chance to have. The sort of life you could have with me." Mickey spoke.

Rose sighed and looked down at the ground before her eyes widened as she noticed large letters painted onto the tarmac. "Over here. It's over here as well!" Rose shouted as she slowly got up, staring down at it.

"That's been there for years. It's just a phrase. It's just words." Mickey shrugged, looking at the words Bad Wolf.

Rose shook her head. "I thought it was a warning. Maybe it's the opposite. Maybe it's a message. The same words written down now and two hundred thousand years in the future. It's a link between me and the Time Lords. Bad wolf here, Bad Wolf there."

Mickey stood up next to her, frowning. "But if it's a message, what's it saying?"

Rose looked at him, smiling slightly. "It's telling me I can get back. The least I can do is help them escape."

* * *

Back on floor 499, there was a large barricade and everyone hid behind it. Loading their weapons and being prepared. "Stand your ground everyone! Follow my commands and good luck." Jack called, running over to the barricade.

* * *

Back on the observation gallery, Lynda gulped as she saw millions of Daleks flying out of their spaceships. "You were right. They're forcing the airlock on 494." She told Jack and the whole satellite shook and she grabbed onto the computer to keep her balance as the Daleks streamed in.

* * *

Rose and Mickey made their way back to the TARDIS, Rose standing near the console. "All the TARDIS needs to do is make a return trip. Just reverse."

"Yeah, but we still can't do it."

"Romana always said that each TARDIS was telepathic. This thing is alive. It can listen." Rose told him, her brain buzzing with excitement.

"It's not listening now is it?" Mickey pointed out. "It's like it's dead."

"We need to get inside it. Last time I saw you was with the Slitheen. This middle bit opened," Rose tapped where the heart of the TARDIS was. "And there was this light. Romana said it was the heart of the TARDIS. If we can open it, I can make contact. I can tell it what to do."

"Rose..."

"Mmm?"

"If you go back, you're going to die." Mickey almost whispered.

Rose briefly looked at him before looking away. "That's a risk I've got to take, because there's nothing left for me here."

Mickey looked slightly hurt. "Nothing?" He repeated.

Rose didn't notice how hurt he was. She was too busy trying to figure out how to open the console. "No."

Mickey sighed, he knew that once Rose made her mind up she was never going to change it. He patted the console. "Okay, if that's what you want, let's get this thing open."

* * *

A little while later, Mickey got in his mini and he fastened a heavy chain to the tow hitch. He attached the other end to the TARDIS console before going in the drivers seat, Jackie standing outside next to the TARDIS. He turned the car on and pressed down the gas peddle.

"Faster!" Rose yelled.

"Come on!" Mickey shouted angrily, slamming his foot on the peddle harshly to make it move quicker.

"It's not moving!" Rose yelled. The chain broke and Mickey switched of the engine of his car. She kicked the console in frustration, ignoring the pain that now soared through her foot.

* * *

Back on satellite five, Romana was crouched down next to the in progress delta wave. Her and Braxiatel working furiously when they heard alarms going.

"Advanced guard have made it!" Lynda called through the line. "To 495."

"Jack, how are we doing?" Braxiatel asked, brushing the sweat from his forehead as he connected a wire to the machine.

"495 should be good, I like 495." Jack replied and he got a screen up to see what was going on in that particular level.

Three Daleks entered the room with the Anne droid and they turned around to face her. "Identify yourself!" The lead Dalek commanded.

"You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" The Anne droid vaporises the three Daleks quickly.

"Yes!" Jack cheered.

Just then, three more Daleks moved in. "You are the weakest link-" The Daleks blew her head off. "Goodbye."

"Proceed to next level!" The Daleks cried.

* * *

Back on the observation deck, Lynda was looking at the computer frantically. "They're flying up the ventilation shafts. No, wait a minute. Oh my god, Romana's right. They're going down." She looked at the screen horrified. The Daleks were going to kill everyone on board without a second thought. She listened in, knowing it will be painful.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" She heard the Daleks cry through the line and she heard the people scream.

"You can't! You don't exist! It's not fair! I won the game! I should be rich! I'm a winner! You can't do this to me!" She heard Rodrick scream.

"Exterminate!" Lynda covered her ears, tears forming and she wiped them away with her sleeve, shaking her head sadly. "Floor zero. They killed them all." Romana was right, these Daleks were monsters and they must be stopped.

* * *

Back in the TARDIS, Mickey left to get some air and to let Jackie have a word with Rose was sat in the captain's chair. Resting her head against the rails. "It was never going to work, sweetheart. Romana knew that. She just wanted you to be safe. Even though she never been a mother, she knew what I meant to you."

"I can't give up." Rose protested.

"Lock the door. Walk away." Jackie pleaded.

"Dad wouldn't give up."

"Well he's not here is he? And even if he was, he'd say the same." Jackie replied.

Rose turned to look at her. "No, he wouldn't. He'd tell me to try anything. If I could save Romana's and Braxiatel's lives, try anything."

"Well, we're never going to know."

"Well I know because I met him. I met Dad."

Jackie shook her head, looking at her in disbelief. "Don't be ridiculous."

Rose sat up. "Romana and Braxiatel took me back in time and I met Dad."

"Don't say that!"

"Remember when Dad died?" Rose's began to cry again. She was becoming too emotional today. "There was someone with him. A girl, a blonde girl. She held his hand. You saw her from a distance Mum, you saw her! Think about it! That was me! You saw me!"

"Stop it!" Jackie shouted.

"That's how good Romana is! You know it!"

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Jackie screamed at her and she ran out, slamming the TARDIS doors behind her. Rose broke down crying.

* * *

Back on floor five hundred, Romana was pulling more wires out and handing them to Braxiatel. "Lynda, what's happening on Earth?" She asked .

"The fleet's descending. They're bombing whole continents. Europa, Pacifica, the New American Alliance. Australasia's just gone." Lynda replied and Romana could hear her crying silently.

"We can do it Romana." Braxiatel told her sternly but even he could feel his own doubt swelling inside him.

* * *

Rose and Mickey stood outside the TARDIS, Rose staring at it sadly.

"There's got to be something else we can do." Mickey sighed.

"Mum was right. Maybe we should just shut the door and walk away." Rose shook her head.

Mickey turned to her. "I'm not having you just, just give up now. No way. We just need something stronger than my car. Something bigger." Suddenly he heard a loud engine and he turned around to see where the noise was coming from and grinned. "Something like that."

A big yellow recovery truck came around the corner and they noticed Jackie was inside it and she parked it outside the TARDIS. Jackie climbed out. "Right, you've only got this until 6 o'clock so get on with it." She chucked the keys to Mickey.

Rose smiled widely. "Mum, where the hell did you get that from?"

"Rodrigo. He owes me a favour. Never mind why but you were right about your dad, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas and it's exactly what he would've done. Now get on with it before I change my mind." She gave Rose a hug before Rose went back inside the TARDIS to the position of where the TARDIS heart was meant to be.

* * *

Back on floor five hundred, the Time Lords both heard the gunfire and Romana nodded at Braxiatel. "Braxiatel, plug this into the power cable." She handed him the end of the wire and Braxiatel grabbed it before he jogged to plug it in.

"Romana, I've got a problem." Lynda interrupted the gun fire in the distance.

"Human female detected!"

Lynda gulped. "They've found me."

Romana bit her lip. No, not sweet little Lynda. "You should be okay Lynda. That side of the station's reinforced against meteors." She knew she was lying to herself. The Daleks could get through anything within a matter of minutes.

"Hope so! You know what they say about Earth workmanship." Romana gave a ghostly smile which suddenly was wiped out her face when she heard the Daleks firing at Lynda who gave a loud petrified scream and she winced. Just how many more were going to die today?

They heard Jack move backwards onto floor 500 and heard him firing at the Daleks. "Last man standing! For god's sake Mr and Mrs Smith! Finish that thing and kill them!"

"Finish that thing and kill mankind!" The Emperor reminded them on the view screen.

* * *

Back on Powell estate in the TARDIS, Jackie stood outside it and watched as Mickey drove the truck, using another chain to try and pull the TARDIS console open.

"Keep going!" Rose shouted.

Jackie turned to look in Mickey's direction. "Put your foot down!"

"Faster!"

Mickey pressed his foot down harder. "Give it some more Mickey!" Jackie shouted.

"Keep going!"

"Give it some more!"

Suddenly, the console burst open and Rose turned to look inside it and golden energy streamed into her eyes. Mickey stopped the truck and went out to the TARDIS. "Rose!" He shouted but the TARDIS doors slammed shut on him and Jackie and the TARDIS dematerialises.

* * *

They heard Jack round the corner, firing his weapons at the Daleks. "Romana! You've got twenty seconds maximum!" They heard Jack shout. Jack ran out of bullets and used his defabricator to blow up two Daleks before that quickly ran out. He threw away his machine gun and defabricator when more Daleks passed but realized that his pistol was also empty. He threw it to the ground and backed into the wall.

The Daleks advanced on him before one of them raised it's eyestalk at him. "Exterminate!"

"I kind of figured that." He lifted his arms and the Daleks exterminated him, throwing him back into the wall.

"It's ready!" Romana shouted but Braxiatel shook his head.

"He's dead." Romana grimaced and stood up when she noticed the Daleks entering from all sides, both Time Lords standing next to each other, Braxiatel aiming his blaster at them but he knew it was useless against them.

Romana went to the Delta wave, glaring at the Emperor on the screen. "You really want to think about this, because if I activate the signal, every living creature dies!"

"I am immortal!"

"Yeah, do you want to put that to a test?" Braxiatel snarled and Romana put her hands on top of the Delta Wave.

"I want to see you two to see you become like me. Hail Lady Romana and Lord Braxiatel! The Great Exterminators! The Doctor would have been so proud of you both." The Emperor mocked.

"Don't you dare mention my brother's name! You do not have the right to even say it!" Braxiatel snarled.

"We will do it!" Romana shouted.

"Then prove yourself Romana. What are you, a coward or killer?"

Romana went to press down the Delta wave but it would not throw the final phrase. After much trying, she gave up and looked up at the Emperor despairingly. "We're both cowards. Any day." Braxiatel shook his head.

"Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness."

Romana glanced at Braxiatel, they had no more plans now. All hope was lost. "What about us? Are we to be to become your angels?"

"You both the heathen. You will both be exterminated!"

"It's time." Romana nodded and she grabbed Braxiatel's hand before smiling faintly at him. "Nice knowing you."

"You too." They both turned to the Daleks, raising their hands upwards in pride and closed their eyes, waiting for death when suddenly, they heard the TARDIS materialise behind them. Romana let go and frowned and they both turn around to see the source of the sound.

"Alert! TARDID materialising!" A Dalek cried.

"You will not escape!" The Emperor cried and the TARDIS arrived and the doors opened and Rose was silhouetted in a blinding golden light and energy tendrils snaked outwards and she arrived at the front.

Romana looked horrified. What had her companion done? "What have you done?!" She cried, horrified.

"I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me." Rose replied.

Braxiatel shook his head, also horrified. "You looked into the Time Vortex! No one not even us is meant to see that."

"This is abomination!" The Emperor shouted.

"Exterminate!" One of the Daleks in front shot out a ray but Rose raised her palm and stopped the beam with her hand.

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here." She raised her hands and pointed them towards the Bad Wolf print on the building and the letters scattered, disappearing forever.

"Rose, you've got to stop." Romana told her. "You've got to stop this right now. You've got the entire vortex running through your head and you're going to burn!"

Rose looked at her and Braxiatel. "I wanted you safe. My Time Lords. Protected from the false god."

"You cannot hurt me! I am immortal!" The Emperor cried.

Rose looked up at the Emperor. "You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence and I divide them." She looked towards one of the Daleks, raising her hands and one by one, the Daleks begin to disintegrate. "Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies. The Time War ends."

One by one, the Daleks crumble. "I will not die! I cannot die!" The emperor cried but even on the view screen, the emperor and his spaceships disappear in a golden wave. The screen disappearing with it.

"Rose, you've done it now. Stop this madness and let it go!" Braxiatel snapped.

Rose looked at him. "How can I let go of this? I bring life!" The Time-Lords knew what this meant, she would bring life to Jack and perhaps others, causing them to be immortal. Something that Time-lords can't bear to be around.

"This is wrong! You can't control life and death. That makes you a god!" Romana glared at her. She just had to pick a stupid ape didn't she?

"But I can. The sun and the moon, the day and night. But why do they hurt?"

Romana sighed. "The power is going to kill you and it's al my fault."

"I can see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be." Rose stated, the golden light swirling in her eyes.

"That's what we see." Braxiatel told her. "All the time and doesn't it drive you mad?"

"My head." Rose cried, tears streaming down her face.

Romana stood up. "Come here."

"Romana no!"

Romana turned to him. "I have more lives left than you do Braxiatel. I am younger than you so let me take this." She glared at him and Braxiatel glared back at her but knew she was right. Romana had more regenerations left than he did.

Romana turned to Rose. "I can let this go for you Rose." She gave her a weak smile, despite all the foolish things that her companion had done. "Trust me." She pressed her forehead to hers and put her finger tips beside Rose's forehead and concentrated, closing her eyes. She let her mind mix with Rose's and the golden energy from Roses eyes transferred into hers and Rose fainted in her arms, Braxiatel helped to move her.

Romana turned to look at the TARDIS and exhaled the energy back into the TARDIS and the doors closed. Romana stumbled slightly before giving a weak smile and she weakly helped Braxiatel carry Rose into the TARDIS, all ready feeling her regeneration beginning.

She moved to the consoles, knowing she had to leave Jack behind. Jack was immortal now, thanks to Rose stupidity by controlling life and death. If she let Jack on board now, it will damage her regeneration process and could possibly kill her. She shook her head. She rather liked having Jack around.

Braxiatel put Rose on the floor. "Foolish human." He commented before walking over to her. "You should of let me done it."

"You know I have more regenerations left in me than you Braxiatel." She told him as she fiddled with the consoles. "Besides, this body was born out of war. It knows nothing else."

"Have you told Rose about regenerations?" Braxiatel asked, raising an eyebrow at her and before Romana could reply, Rose groaned and she slowly sat up.

"What happened?" Rose asked, rubbing her head.

Romana looked at her. "Don't you remember?"

"It's like there was this singing." She frowned.

Romana nodded. "That's right. Braxiatel and I sang a duet and the Daleks ran away."

Rose gave a slight painful smile. "I was at home. No, I wasn't, I was in the TARDIS, and there was this light. I can't remember anything else." Romana glanced at her skin and noticed it darkening, almost decaying and it looked like it was bubbling. She grimaced and Braxiatel sighed.

Romana gave Braxiatel a small smile. "Rose Tyler and Irving Braxiatel. I was going to take you both to so many places. Braxiatel knows what's coming so he'll tell you."

Rose shook her head. "You're not making sense."

"I might never make sense again. I might have two heads or no head." She gave a little laugh.

"Better not Romana." Braxiatel drawled.

Romana grinned a little. "Imagine me with no head. I would finally be able to give Braxiatel some peace hey? Even though Time Ladies have better control over this, it's still a very tricky process. You're never going to know what you end up with."

Romana suddenly screamed in pain and doubled over, Rose went to her but Braxiatel held her back. "Stay away from her." He told her.

"But she's hurt!" Rose cried. "What's going on?"

Romana clutched her stomach, crying out in pain. Never before has any of her regenerations been as painful as this. But then again, none of them have absorbed the time vortex and she gripped the TARDIS console who sent her gentle humming noises to try and calm her. Romana was unable to reply.

"She absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex and no Time Lord is not meant to do that. It kills them. Right now, one by one all her cells in Romana's body are dying." Braxiatel explained, gripping Rose tightly as Rose struggled to get lose of his grip.

"Why are you not helping her? Can't you see she's in agony?" Rose looked at him, wondering why Braxiatel was not helping Romana, the last of the Time Ladies.

"She's healing now. I don't know if Romana has explained it to you but our people have this way where we can cheat death. We don't die but we change."

Romana nodded, in pain and sweat appeared on her forehead and she grabbed her wrists. In a few minutes a new woman would take her place, swaggering off to save the universe and she'll be nothing. "He's right, I was meant to explain it to you but I didn't think I need to. I'm not going to see you both again. Not like this. Not with this war machine body. Before I go-"

"Don't say that." Rose cried.

"Rose and Braxiatel, before I go I just want to tell you both you were both brilliant. You helped me so much and I was so alone and I owe you...I don't know what I would have done without you both. Absolutely brilliant. And you know what? So was I." She gave them both a last smile, pain in her eyes and Braxiatel moved Rose back and Romana let go of her hands and golden light burst out of Romana's body. Braxiatel covered Rose's eyes from the regeneration as she changed, the light bursting out everywhere and Romana's body started to change. Braxiatel noticed she started to shrink a little, her skin becoming paler and her hair growing black as midnight and her skin as pale as ivory.

As suddenly as it begun, the yellow light began to die down and the regeneration process stopped.

Romana panted and smiled at Braxiatel through her green eyes, running her hands through her long black hair. "Hello there." She called to him cheerily before frowning. "Ooh that's weird. I have an Irish accent now! Never had an accent before. That's new..." She patted the top of her head. "Grown a few inches shorter I would say." She did a little twirl, almost falling over and Braxiatel released Rose from his grip. "Now...where was I?"

"Explaining the regeneration process." Braxiatel told her and Romana nodded.

"So I was!"

Rose stared at her in aghast.


	25. Note

Hello fans!

Thank you for the support for this story, all your reviews, favourites and follows mean the world to me!

As a thank you, I have written a sequel to Siren's Call. It is called** The Siren's Madness **involving Romana, Irving Braxiatel, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith and many more.

Hope you can all go and check that out!

Take care.


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